


Soulmate Voice AU

by KleinMy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Soulmate AU, but sexual desires etc. might be hinted at, during the time of season 1/2/3/4-ish of the anime, i'm not censoring swear words or language, there is no actual sexual content, there will be a note at the beginning of the chapter were it plays a bigger role though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:48:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 33,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26192185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KleinMy/pseuds/KleinMy
Summary: In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues)./Every chapter will deal with a different pair of soulmates. They will be loosely connected and follow the timeline of the Anime seasons 1/2/3/4 (it will probably end with a chapter that is set after the Spring Tournament 2013).
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Iwaizumi Hajime, Azumane Asahi/Bokuto Koutarou, Inuoka Sou/Tsukishima Kei, Kozume Kenma/Yamamoto Taketora, Kuguri Naoyasu/Shibayama Yuuki, Kuribayashi Runa/Yachi Hitoka, Kuroo Tetsurou/Yaku Morisuke, Matsukawa Issei/Tendou Satori, Misaki Hana/Terushima Yuuji, Miya Atsumu/Suna Rintarou, Miya Osamu/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Comments: 21
Kudos: 167





	1. The Request (Shimizu Kiyoko X Tanaka Ryuunosuke)

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).  
> /  
> Kiyoko knew who her soulmate was, but never talked about it. The upcoming end of her high school days make her want to take action.

It was a weird feeling. The first day of her 3rd high school year. Her last school year. Her last year as the manager of the Karasuno Volleyball club. A mixture of excitement and sadness overcame Kiyoko as she sat down in her classroom, waiting for the other students and the teacher to arrive. She saw Michimya Yui passing by the windows to the room, smiling and chatting with Sawamura Daichi. _They were soulmates._ The corner of Kiyokos mouth twitched, nearly forming a smile. _These dumbasses had known each other for nearly two years, until they finally realized that they were meant for each other. How had they talked to each other every day without noticing that the voice of the other was the same that was inside their brain?_ Kiyoko let out a mute sigh and turned her eyes from the hallway, that the happy couple had already left moments ago. _She probably shouldn’t judge them too hard. Since she was another dumbass, still at war with herself and still not sure what she should do. What she wanted to do._

Kiyoko had known who her soulmate was for a little less than a year now. The moment she had stepped into the gym of the Volleyball team a year ago to instruct the newcomers, she had known.

“Please marry me!”, Tanaka Ryuunosuke had nearly shouted at her, as soon as both of her feet had landed on the wooden floor. He had never heard her voice before. He could have barely had a second to look at her and had already blurted out a proposal.

It wasn’t new to Kiyoko that people stared at her, flirted with her, even asked her out and sometimes harassed her. It wasn’t new, but she never liked it. So her answer came out nearly without thinking. “No.” Tanaka had looked flustered, while his teammates were trying to supress their laughter.

Maybe it wasn’t that exact moment she had realized they were soulmates, since her inner voice was usual a little quieter and more collected than Tanakas constant outdoor voice. But she had noticed a familiarity around him instantly and it didn’t take her long to compare her thoughts to his talks and notice that they matched.

Telling Tanaka about her discovery hadn’t been an option for the manager. She had already turned him down numerous times during the first week they had known each other and she wasn’t sure what to make of his behaviour. He and Nishinoya Yuu, also a new student during that time, had formed a weird fan club for her, always trying to help her. Just talk to her. The attention was overwhelming, but she never seriously told them off, since they respected the boundaries Kiyoko had set. She was glad about that, but nonetheless still confused. _Why were they doing that and how long were they planning on holding that up?_

Even now Kiyoko was still confused. _Did Tanaka really not know they were soulmates? Was that the reason he never gave up? What about Nishinoya? Why were they even that interested in her in the first place? Most people lost focus and interest after enough rejections. Or after they found their soulmates…_

Barely emerging from her thoughts the manager took the two new applications for the Volleyball team, only quickly glancing at the names of the two boys, before she left the teachers room to walk over to the gym.

_The 3 rd, the last,_ _year of high school. She should probably tell him. She admittedly did not want to loose him. Even wanted to give him a real chance, but- there was the but- but she couldn’t easily do that now. She wasn’t ready. Was that unfair?_

This time the girl was completely pulled out of her thoughts, when she saw two boys jumping and yelling in front of the gym door. When she was sure she didn’t know them, she cleared her throat loud enough to make the shorter, orange haired, boy let out a yelp. “Could you move out of the way?”, she asked and watched as they hurried to the side. Kiyoko quickly took off her shoes, entered the gym and locked those two out again. “Welcome back!! It’s so good to see you again!”, Tanaka greeted her eagerly and swooned over the little nod she gave him. “Here are the applications from the new 1st years”, she explained and passed Daichi the papers. “I’m glad there are more newcomers who want to join except those two outside”, he sighed and quickly read over the names. Kiyoko didn’t even have to ask what the captain had meant, because Tanaka popped up next to her and explained loudly how the two boys Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shoyo, who were now waiting outside, had wanted to join the club, fought each other, kicked the wig off of the headmaster’s head, which had landed on Daichi, who had locked the 1st years out and did not want them on the team unless they stopped fighting and started working together.

After school and after training Kiyoko was leaving for her way home, when Tanaka appeared at her side. He was slightly panting. “Let me accompany you home!”, he requested, a little too loudly. “No, thank you”, she refused. Her mind, Tanakas voice, was screaming at her in frustration. _Hadn’t she just made up her mind to tell him? To give him a chance? Walking home together would be a great opportunity to just do that!_ But Kiyoko ignored her own thoughts, wished Tanaka a save arrival at his own home and went her way without him.

The following days the girl kept fighting with herself about whether she should talk to Tanaka now or later. _There was still the full school year to sort out her thoughts, needs and wants and discuss them with him. There was only this last school year to sort out her thoughts, needs and wants and discuss them with him. What should she do and when would be the best moment to do it?_

In addition, there was a lot to do in the club. Kageyama and Hinata joined, after winning a game with Tanaka against Daichi and the other two new 1st years Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi. Except for Yamaguchi they were all quite troublesome. Speaking of trouble Nishinoya came back to the club activities after his suspension was over and only after the “new team” had played and won a practice match against AOBA Johsai. Asahi was still not coming back to training, even though, Nishinoya, Daichi and Kiyoko herself had talked to him about it.

With all the chaos she could hardly influence, Kiyoko finally decided to at least try to solve this one problem that was completely in her hands.

“Even you two should stop and go home now”, the manager called out to Kageyama and Hinata who had put up the net again to practice some more. They accepted her command and Kiyoko attempted to leave, when Tanaka bolted down the stairs from the locker rooms. “What’s going on there?”, he asked her, glancing inside the lit gym. “I told them to stop practicing and pack up”, Kiyoko answered, using the moment Tanaka wasn’t looking at her to examine his features. “I should help them and make sure-”, he started, but stopped when he noticed her stare. His ears were glowing red in a second. “Would you mind accompanying me for a while? Not the whole way, I just- I just wanted to talk to you for a moment”, Kiyoko shyly requested, feeling a little hot now herself and started her way home. Tanaka needed a while to process her words, so he had to run after her, to catch up and comply with her plea.

They walked together in silence for a while. Kiyoko could sense Tanakas nervousness, which actually helped her to finally find the courage to speak up.

“I wanted to talk to you about something specific”, she started only looking at him briefly. He returned her gaze attentively, unsure if he should be nervous in a positive or negative way. “I am- I hope you can listen to what I say, before you speak”, she requested and Tanaka nodded. _Sure, he would._ “I think we are soulmates”, Kiyoko admitted and didn’t even have to look over at the boy next to her, to know how his face was heating up and how his expression rushed through excitement, confusion, happiness and concern. “I’m pretty sure you’re the voice of my mind and I’m confident about it for already nearly a year, I just never told you”, she continued. Realizing that Tanaka had stopped his steps, she also stopped and fully turned around to him. “So you don’t-”, he started, but stopped nearly immediately. He seemed to remember his promise to let her finish first and signalled her with his hand to continue. _Surely, Tanaka would listen_. “I never told you because I felt overwhelmed and helpless. You clearly couldn’t have known that we were soulmates when you and Nishinoya started- started all that fuzz, so I was unsure. I waited for you to lose interest… but you didn’t. I, personally, had to get to know you better and gather my thought first, before- I know I’m probably unfair for requesting that, but I don’t want to date or do any of that sort right now. I want to finish high school and all these club activities first. I hope I will be ready then, so- so I will selfishly ask you to wait for me”, Kiyoko ended her monologue looking at her clasped hands. She didn’t dare to look at Tanaka, her soulmate, now. She wanted to give him space and time to think about her words. Give him the chance to reject her, even though she now desperately hoped he wouldn’t. _Tanaka would understand, right? Surely, he would. He was a good person. Right?_

The seconds passed by and Kiyoko was still eyeing her own hands, waiting, until Tanaka finally let out a relieved sigh. Followed by a loud laughter. The girl looked up and saw him coming a little closer, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his pants. With red cheeks he bashfully smiled at her. “I was really afraid you would tell me you didn’t want me. Tell me to finally get lost”, he admitted quietly, stopping in a distance of her that wouldn’t make her uncomfortable. “But you’re a good person”, Kiyoko simply answered, feeling a little relieved, that Tanaka didn’t seem to be angry or dismiss her. “You know, it still stands, what I always have told you. I will follow you for my lifetime and I would wait even as long. Just- Just tell me, when you feel uncomfortable or anything, okay?”, he finally gave the answer that put Kiyokos heart and mind fully at ease. She smiled and Tanaka clearly felt his heart jumping out of his chest, but he pulled himself together to not scream into the night. He returned her smile. “Thank you, Tanaka”, the manager whispered and he seemed to implode. “If it’s alright with you, I’d rather not have everybody know about it. I won’t ask you to lie-”, Kiyoko timidly started and quickly got interrupted by Tanakas loud voice. “Whatever you want! I- I will try very hard! I promise!”

His promise only lasted for a few days though.

“Really, Ryuu?!” Nishinoyas voice echoed through the gym, earning everybodys attention. Tanaka, who had brief eye-contact with Kiyoko, tried to shush his best friend, but it was too late. The whole team gathered around the two 2nd years. They had quietly talked in a corner of the room, which was always highly suspicious. “Wow! You really are a great guy!”, Nishinoya laughed, hitting his friend on the back, who tried to hide his panicky state and not look into Kiyoko’s face. He didn’t want to see her disappointed. The other boys of the team exchanged questioning looks, but before Sugawara could instigate the situation, Kiyoko spoke to her soulmate. “Don’t worry. Just don’t make a fuzz about it”, she said to Tanaka, who instantly dropped to his knees, thanking her, while Nishinoya was still laughing loudly. “Kiyoko is just the best! Man, Ryuu!! I can’t wait to meet my own soulmate!”, he shouted, his teammates were now exchanging dumbfounded looks and the manager went away to look for the equipment they would need for the golden week. Their trainings match against Nekoma, the high school from Tokyo.


	2. Interesting (Yamamoto Taketora X Kozume Kenma)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma is angry with his soulmate, despite never talking to him about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

Kenma halted his steps, tapping on his cell phone while gritting his teeth. “Game Over”, flashed over the screen. He glared down at the device in his hands, before he slowly lifted his head up a little and glanced around through his blond strands of hair. He was alone. _Finally, some peace and silence_. Alone in a city he forgot the name of in the prefecture Miyagi, where he’d never been before. _He must have subconsciously walked away from his loud teammates. The small wall seemed comfortable enough to sit down and wait for Kuroo to come and pick him up._ Kenma grimaced a little at the voice of his thoughts and the suddenly emerging image of his teammates worrying over him and searching for him. The image of a certain teammate. The face to the voice in his mind. With another scowl he dropped his bag, sat down and started a new game.

“Oh? Hi! I’m lost. What are you doing here?”, a cheerful voice suddenly asked and Kenma felt obliged to quickly glance up from his cell phone. “I’m lost, too”, he admitted and shot the orange haired boy another quick glance, noticing his shirt. _Karasuno Volleyball club? Interesting_. “I’m Hinata Shoyo and you?”, the boy introduced himself and Kenma, again, felt obliged to not ignore him. “I’m Kozume Kenma”, he answered, before concentrating on his game again. He felt Shoyos presence coming a little closer. _Why was he not leaving? At least he wasn’t really bothering… unlike other people, who not only infiltrated his mind, but also keep pestering him about this and that in real life! Unlike- Fuck. Dead again._ “Oh! You play Volleyball?”, Shoyo nearly screamed noticing the bag next to the wall. Kenma nodded.

They kept talking about Volleyball for a while. Both being players who seem unlikely for their respective positions as a middle blocker and a setter. “Is your school strong?”, Shoyo asked curiously, making Kenma fully look up and into his face. “I think so”, the blond setter answers and now openly examined his dialogue partner. Kenma could see Shoyos blood run cold under his stare and slowly turned back to his cell phone. _Tomorrow could be interesting. Hopefully._ “Which school are you from?”, Shoyo wanted to know, but before Kenma could answer, a voice shouted his name. “Kenma! Where have you been?”, Kuroo asked with his hands on his hips. “Here, obviously”, the setter answered dryly and proceeded to grab his bag and stand up. “See you”, he greeted Shoyo while passing him and followed his best friend and team captian back to the rest of the Nekoma Volleyball club.

Kenma could feel Kuroos stare on him during the walk to the gym of yet another school they’d have a practice match with during the golden week. _What a hassle. And not even that interesting_. “Who was that?”, his best friend suddenly asked, the sly smile prominent in his voice. But before Kenma could even think about answering or not, another one of his teammates joined in on the questions. “Who’s who? Who are you talking about?”, Yamamoto Taketora wanted to know. His loud voice even gaining the attention from the two coaches and earning a hiss from Kenma. “I don’t know! Or else I wouldn’t have to ask!”, Kuroo snarled at their teams ace and turned his attention back on his best friend. “So, who was that little guy chatting you up?”, he repeated his questions, getting overpowered by Toras voice volume again. “Kenma got hit on?!” _Great. Now everyone is staring and imagining_ _things_. “I did not get hit on! I was just waiting and he was talking to me!”, Kenma answered, raising his voice as well, putting his cell phone away and went into the locker room first.

During the practice match, that they had won, the atmosphere went back to normal and it was nearly harmonious when they arrived at their sleeping quarters. Kuroo was looking through their match statistic, Kenma was playing a game on his PSP and Tora was talking to the two 1st years Shibayama Yuuki and Inuoka Sou.

“Does every team here have a female manager?! And they’re all so pretty! Why do we not have a manager! Do you guys think Karasuno will have a manager? I think not! That would be too much!”, Tora yelled. Kenmas face darkened. “I bet they have. I mean Fukurodani back at home even has two managers”, Inuoka answered. He seemed excited about the 2nd year with the Mohawk getting fired up. “You bet, huh? How about Yakisoba bread for the winner? They won’t have a manager!”, Tora boisterously laughed and the other two agreed to the bet. Kenma rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. _It was their problem if they kept betting about such dumb things. It got nothing to do with him. It wasn’t his business._ “Karasuno! You better not have a pretty female manager! You’ll be sorry! You hear-“, Tora suddenly shouted out of the open window and Kenma was glad that Kuroo finally stepped in, so that he didn’t have to sacrifice his PSP and force it down Toras throat to silence him. “Shut up, Yamamoto! If you have so much energy left we should have you train more, huh?”, Kuroo roared. Tora sheepishly closed the window and sat down on his futon, trying to look inconspicuous. “Why are you so obsessed with other teams’ female managers anyway?”, Inuoka asked him, flustering his teammate even more. “Is your soulmate female?”, Shibayama joined in eyeing the others curiously. Kenma pricked up his ears, without looking up from his game. “That- That’s none of your business!”, Tora shot back aggressively. “Mine is not, I think”, Inuoka admitted, seemingly hoping to make the atmosphere more comfortable for Tora to open up. “Same here”, Shibayama mumbled, looking at his hands in his laps. Kenma paused his game, but didn’t move his position. _This was getting interesting. It shouldn’t be interesting, though! He knew what he needed to know! He knew! He just didn’t know if Tora knew…_ “When do we have to leave tomorrow? We should probably go to bed”, Tora babbled and started moving around to get ready to sleep. The two 1st years followed him and Kenma started his game again. He thought he had been subtle about eavesdropping, but when he looked around the room, he could see both Kuroo and Tora glancing at him. _Well, shit_.

The next day the Nekoma Volleyball club were walking over to the Karasuno school grounds. Kenma was very grumpy for the whole morning. He couldn’t even concentrate on his games and kept loosing. _At least todays trainings matches promised to be interesting. If Shoyo didn’t lie. Hopefully they didn’t have a female manager, so that Tora would shut up_. Kenma followed Kuroo and tried to melt in with the rest of the team, so that Karasuno wouldn’t pay him too much attention. Locking eyes with Shoyo made him realize that that wouldn’t be the case, though. “Kenma?! You’re Nekoma’s setter?!”, the orange haired boy shouted, earning a little nod from said setter. “Oh it’s the little guy from yesterday”, Kuroo snickered into his best friends’ ear, before walking over to Karasuno’s captain. “What business do you have with our setter?”, Tora suddenly growled, getting uncomfortably close to Kenma and Shoyo. “Why do you care, Tora?”, Kenma mumbled, feeling annoyed again. “What business do you have with our middle blocker?”, the Karasuno Version of Tora asked in a similar aggressive manner. Luckily Yaku Morisuke came to Kenma’s rescue and scolded Tora. The Karasuno guy Tanaka got scolded by Sugawara Koshi.

The blond setter was just about to walk away and maybe hide somewhere until the match started, when he heard Tora roaring again. Against his will he turned around and took in the scene. “Why do you have such a gorgeous female manager!”, he cried out. _Why do you have to be such an idiot?_ Tanaka quickly stood in front of the girl and laughed at Tora’s pain. “Shut up, Tora!”, Kenma glared at is teammate, who returned his look with honest surprise. “It’s none of your business anyway!”

After this incident Kenma’s mood was even more on a rollercoaster than it had been before anyway. _The matches were interesting. It was almost enjoyable. But Tora was a pain in the ass. As usual_. Every time he caught Tora watching Karasuno’s manager Kenma lashed out at him and kept scolding him throughout the game. The bickering and fighting between those two wasn’t exactly unusual, but this behaviour made Kuroo interfere.

“What’s wrong today, Kenma? Not that it’s weird for you to scold Yamamoto, but today- It’s a bit much”, the captain said, after he had lead Kenma a little away from the others. The setter just gritted his teeth. _This is ridiculous. I’m not gonna tell him! I’m-_ “What did he do to you? You want me to punish him?”, his best friend offered. _Ugh. I have to answer now…_ “He’s just an annoying idiot! And who are you to talk? You and Yaku were worse! You still sometimes are…”, Kenma hissed. Kuroo looked offended for a split second, before a wide smirk crawled onto his features. The setter sighed, avoiding eye-contact. _Great. Not what he wanted to disclose at all._ “You mean- You and Yamamoto- He’s your- Really?”, the dark haired boy wanted to know, trying to suppress his laughter. “If you dare to say something about it, I’m going to end you”, Kenma threatened his friend, who quickly held up his hands in a defensive manner. “I’m not going to say anything. You should, though! If you’re jealous. It’s only fair”, Kuroo suggested, before he left his friend alone to go and find Yaku, his soulmate and boyfriend.

Grumbling, growling and cussing under his breath Kenma had to admit that his best friend was right. _He was- He seemed to be feeling a little, tiny bit of jealousy and it would only be fair to talk to Tora about it. That was the only option to maybe make him stop drooling over girls. Maybe. The only chance._ He let out a deep sigh and slowly approached the storage room, where he had seen Tora and Tanaka walk in. Fiddling with his fingers and trying to think of the least embarrassing way to explain the situation to Tora, he stood in front of the door. He didn’t dare to enter, but he could hear them talking. _They were talking about that manager again. At least she was that Tanaka’s soulmate, so Tora should shut up about her, either way! Hopefully_.

“Ha Ha Ha! You’re not that bad, Tora!”, Tanaka roared, leaving the storage room with his new friend from Tokyo, nearly knocking over Kenma. “Oi, Kenma! Tanaka is a great guy! And Shimizu Kiyoko is a fitting name for a goddess!”, Tora exclaimed even more excited than his new friend. _There is no use in talking to this knucklehead!_ “Whatever”, Kenma hissed, turning around to leave. He froze in his move, locking eyes with Kuroo. A deep sigh escaped his lips, before he turned around again, grabbed Tora’s wrist and drag him along. “We have to leave!” _Gosh, this was so embarrassing. What was he supposed to do now! He shouldn’t have done anything at all! He should have just ignored all this mess!_ Tora was unusually quiet and Kenma could feel his eyes on the back of his head. But he didn’t say anything and Kenma was thankful for that. Until they stepped out of the gym, a few meters away from the rest of the students who were chatting and already saying their goodbyes.

“Kenma? What’s up with you today?”, Tora asked, stopping his steps. Now he was the one holding Kenma’s wrist, so that the shorter boy couldn’t run away. Kenma made a face like he felt sick. The two boys locked eyes. Both being a little scared what they would see. Both being equally surprised by the urgency they saw. _Now or never. Will hardly get better and could hardly get worse._ “I was jealous and you’re fucking annoying”, Kenma finally blurted out. Tora opened his mouth, closed it again and then let it hung open, before he suddenly shook his head and started talking. “I don’t think I understand”, he admitted in a low voice. Kenma had never heard him talk that softly. He hardly ever heard him not shouting! “I- I thought you hated me. Not me per se, but the idea of me being your soulmate”, he nearly whispered. Now Kenma was the one looking at him dumbfounded and open-mouthed. “You- You knew that?”, he hissed, feeling heat crawling up his neck. “Yes, but-” “Why didn’t you say anything? I mean you’re not exactly a discreet person”, Kenma interrupted his soulmate who seemed to grow more and more unsure and more and more defensive. “Well, but you weren’t exactly discreet about making it clear, that you were disappointed!”, Tora shot back, raising his volume a little, but not shouting. He was still holding onto Kenma’s wrist, like his life depended on it. “I didn’t- I am not! You were just living your best life, crying about girls and I wanted you to figure it out yourself! I wasn’t going to make you feel obligated to do anything, but it’s really getting on my nerves- your constant screaming about pretty female managers! I hate to say it, but here you go- again- I. Am. Jealous. I’m not going to repeat myself!”, the setter rambled and tried to free himself von Tora’s grip. “Wait, wait, wait!!”, his soulmate exclaimed and pulled him a little closer. _Why was he strong? All that ridiculous extra training!_ “So- You’re not disappointed? You- You want me?” Tora was now whispering and his face looked as red, as Kenma was afraid his did as well. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I want you-” “You’re jealous, though!” A smile tugged at the corners of Tora’s mouth. Kenma stared at him. _I am. I’m not going to say it again, though_. “So what are we now?” The taller boy stared down at his soulmate, obviously noticing his heated face and the war of pride and want behind his golden eyes. He waited. He would never force something on Kenma, but he needed clarification now. “If you try to kiss me now, I’ll punch you”, the setter growled. Another moment of silence. _Did he really have to? So embarrassing!_ “We can try to get closer if you want”, Kenma mumbled, earning a blinding smile from his soulmate. “Sounds nice!” _There was the excessive screaming again…_

“Nah~ You should move over to let Kenma sit there, Yamamoto! I want to sit next to Yakkun today and Fukunaga and Kai should talk about vice- and future-vice-captain-stuff!”, Kuroo suggested, smirking down at his best friend and his soulmate. Kenma looked like he was about to jump onto Kuroo and poke his eyes out, but Tora’s warm hand on his arm distracted him. “I promise I’ll be quiet”, he whispered. Kenma felt his cheeks getting warm again. “Don’t have to. I’ll play anyway”, he mumbled, holding his PSP up. They finally sat down, trying to ignore Kuroo’s giggles and the whispers of the 1st years.

“What are you going to do for the drive?”, Kenma asked. Tora shrugged. “Sleeping?” “Okay”, he replied, moving a little to find a comfortable position, before laying his head on Tora’s shoulder. The sudden skinship made his soulmate jump a little in his seat, before he softly laid his cheek on the setter’s hair. Kenma acted like he didn’t notice anything and continued his game. Tora tried to calm his racing heart to concentrate on the PSP, as well.


	3. To let you know (Bokuto Koutarou X Azumane Asahi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto wants to get to know Asahi. Asahi is totally misjudging the situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

“Akaashi? Akaashi! I’m so excited! What do you think? Will they be strong? Will they be nice?”, Bokuto shouted as he ran over to his best friend and favourite setter. “I know. I’m not sure, I’ll have to see for myself. I guess they will be… Didn’t Kuroo-san and Kenma said they were difficult to win against? For this, too, I’ll have to see for myself, but I usually trust Kenma’s judgment and he seemed to especially like them”, Akaashi calmly answered all of Bokuto’s questions. _When were they supposed to arrive again? Shinzen and Ubugawa were already there. Maybe he should ask Yukkipe, or-_ “Hey, hey, hey! Kuroo! You’re finally here, too?”, Fukurodani’s ace roared and ran back through the gym to greet his other best friend. “What’s up you overgrown owl?”, Kuroo smirked, earning a loud laugh from Bokuto. “Nothing, yet. I mean we’re still waiting for everyone to arrive! Now only your crow-friends are missing, though”, he answered. Today he was in an especially good mood. _trainingscamps were always fun. Playing Volleyball was mostly always fun. Meeting new people to play volleyball against was always super exciting!_

They didn’t have to wait for too long, until Karasuno arrived in Tokyo and they introduced themselves. _Sadly, the freak-duo wasn’t with them. They were supposed to come later, though. Hopefully they’d be on time to play some matches against everyone!_ But even without Hinata and Kageyama Karasuno was interesting enough to catch Bokuto’s attention from time to time. Even though they lost every single match.

Bokuto had watched the whole team play and could see their individual strengths, but one person, especially caught his eyes. Karasuno’s ace. _He seemed really cool. He was probably a nice person, even though he looked a little intimidating… Maybe he should talk to him to find out!_

Bokuto waited for Karasuno to finish their penalty round, before he followed Kuroo over to where they were huddled together. “Having fun doing extra laps, Daichi-san?”, Kuroo teased and slung an arm around their captain’s shoulders. Fukurodani’s captain didn’t listen to his answer or their further teasing. His eyes wandered over the other players and found their ace. Their gazes met for a moment. Golden eyes stared into dark brown ones. _What was his name again? Maybe they could train together later? They could-_ “Bokuto? Care to come over for a second?”, Kaori shouted and the top 4 ace, immediately complied. _The managers didn’t appreciate being kept waiting. And they could be scary! Very scary._ Bokuto bounced back to his own team, smiling at Yukie, Kaori and Akaashi. “What’s up?”

At the other side of the gym, Asahi was shaking so much his teeth were knocking against each other. “Asahi! What’s wrong again? Get yourself together!”, Sugawara asked, making it sound like scolding. “It’s just- The Fukurodani ace-”, he quietly answered and got interrupted by Kuroo, who had curiously been eavesdropping. “You mean Bokuto? The owl-looking guy with the two-coloured hair?”, the Nekoma captain asked and Asahi seemed to shrink under his probing gaze. “He was staring at me. What if he wants to challenge me? Like Date Tech’s ace! What if-”, Asahi rambled, his voice shaking. Kuroo shot Daichi a curious look, as he and Sugawara started to laugh. “Get yourself together!”, Sugawara demanded again, this time giggling. “I think I missed something”, Kuroo assumed, but nobody wanted to answer him. Asahi was still shaking and started screaming, when Nishinoya jumped on his back. Daichi and Sugawara were too busy laughing at their friend’s misery, to explain the situation to Nekoma’s captain.

Throughout the day Bokuto became more and more dejected. He finally got Asahi’s name from Kuroo, but whenever he tried to talk to the fellow ace, he either disappeared before he even reached him, or he was squeaking out an apology. _How could he be so busy all the time? Did he not want to get to know him? Did he not even want to at least hold a small conversation? Just a short one?_

“Asahi-san! Would you like to train a little together after the last match?”, Bokuto asked with a hopeful look in his eyes. “Huh? Oh- S-sorry! I already promised Noya to practice with him!”, Karasuno’s ace hastily answered and before Bokuto could say anything more, Asahi was already fleeing from his company.

After Bokuto didn’t succeed in asking Asahi to practice together, he also failed in sitting next to him during dinner or striking a conversation in front of, in and out of the shower. _Why was Asahi avoiding him? Was he that annoying? Not likeable? That disgusting he couldn’t even bear to be in the same room as him?_ The Fukurodani captain let out a deep sigh and slumped down against the wall. He hugged his pillow close and stared at his futon beneath him. After another sad huff, he could sense Akaashi crouching down next to him. He felt his best friend and vice-captain stare at him. “What’s wrong Bokuto-san?”, Akaashi’s soft voice asked. Bokuto didn’t react immediately. He mumbled a few incoherent things into his pillow, before he turned to face Akaashi. _If someone could help him make sense of this all, it would be Akaashi!_ “It’s just- You know Karasuno’s ace?”, he started, straightening up a little. “Azumane-san?”, the vice-captain wanted to clarify, getting Bokuto’s full attention on him. “Do you know him? Did you talk to him?” Akaashi was a little taken aback by the sudden urgency in his captain’s voice. “I’m not sure actually- I think I just know his name, because we all introduced each other in the morning? But why is that important to you, Bokuto-san?” His gaze was as disarming as ever, which made Bokuto finally explain his emotional state. _His emo-mode._ “Why do you think Asahi-san is avoiding me? Whenever I try to talk to him, he disappears! And his voice reminds me of something! I’m not sure, actually- Do you think he hates me? Do you think-” “You’re rambling, Bokuto-san”, Akaashi interrupted him and the other boy could see the thoughts racing behind his eyes. _Akaashi was very smart. He was going to notice something Bokuto missed. He- Oh? There it was!_ The vice-captain’s eyes widened for a second, before a smile tugged on the corners of his mouth. _What did he realize?!_ They stared at each other for a while curiously. Bokuto was just about to deflate again, when Akaashi decided to finally share his wisdom with his best friend. “You’re saying his voice reminds you of something. Does he perhaps sound like something you know? What can you conclude now, Bokuto-san?”, Akaashi calmly asked, still crouching next to his friend, his hands on his own knees. _What? That was the question he had asked Akaashi! He didn’t know! That’s why he had asked! How was he supposed to know? He was too dumb, as always! How could he ever solve this mystery?!_ “I don’t know! Akaashi! You’re pressuring me! You know I’m too dumb to-! You know- I- Oh? Oh!” Bokuto’s suddenly emerged emo-mode, shifted as quickly into some hopeful sort of realization and curiosity. There was a moment of silence between them again. Akaashi tilted his head lightly, telling him to continue on his path to clarity. “Oh! That! That’s what he reminds me of! My emo-mode- My- You think he-? You mean? Soulmates?”, Bokuto stammered, perking up a little, regaining his energetic glimmer in his golden eyes. “To me it seemed like that. I can’t listen to your thoughts, though, so only you can know, if he’s the narrator of your mind”, Akaashi agreed and at the same time dismissed all responsibility. On the captain’s face appeared an excited smile. The vice-captain mirrored that expression a little less enthusiastic, but encouraging nonetheless. “Oh! Okay!” Bokuto jumped to his feet, his pillow falling to the side. “Best I go right now to confess my love to him!”, he exclaimed and clapping his hands together loudly. “Do that, Bokuto-san. But don’t be out too long. We all have more matches and training tomorrow and we’ll start early”, Akaashi nodded and watched his best friend skipping out of the room to go and find his soulmate.

Bokuto was already gone, when Konoha, who had watched the conversation with amusement, pointed his finger at Akaashi in a mixture of admiration and accusation. “You are scary, Akaashi. And mean! But amazing nevertheless”, the 3rd year wing spiker declared and earned a chuckle from the setter. “I do love, Bokuto-san, and I believe him and want him to be happy, but I need some fun from time to time, too. Besides- Knowing him, he’ll probably succeed, even with such a dumb plan like this…”, he answered, before he started to tidy up the mess his best friend left behind.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Bokuto knocked the door open with a loud crash. In his over excitement he didn’t thought about the possibility of the Karasuno boys already sleeping. Or at least trying to. _Oops!_ “Sorry, if I woke you guys up…?”, he sheepishly said and tried to ignore the shocked or disapproving looks of the guests. “No problem. What’s the matter?”, their captain Daichi answered, standing up from his futon and walking over to Fukurodani’s ace. “I just wanted to talk to Asahi-san!”, Bokuto declared, making everyone in the room, following his gaze to the boy in question. Asahi seemed to have a nervous break-down again. _He should get it over quick, before his soulmate might black out._ “I love you and would like to spend some time with you!”, the owlish captain continued in his loud voice and smile brightly at the other ace. However, his face quickly fell, when Asahi didn’t react and just continued to stare at him. While some of his teammates let out shocked giggles, the others were just confused. “Uh- I just wanted to say that- To let you know, you know? I- I guess I’ll let you guys sleep now… See you tomorrow”, Bokuto mumbled and left the room with an obvious deflated figure.

As soon as Bokuto had closed the door behind him, hell broke loose in Karasuno’s room. Tanaka, Nishinoya and Hinata were screaming. Daichi laughed so hard he leaned on the wall, Sugawara was shaking Asahi to get a reaction out of him. Ennoshita seemed to be the only one who was actually worried for their ace and was able to stop the chaos after a few tries.

“Did you know that, Asahi?” “Why did you ignore the poor boy?!” “Did you know?” “I didn’t know!” “He said he loved you! In front of all of us! Asahi-san! How romantic is that?!” Everyone was talking over each other and Asahi slowly got back into reality. “Oh no- I thought- Did I- Did I just break my soulmates heart?”, he stuttered, successfully quieten the room again. “You did”, Sugawara confirmed as straightforward as usual. “Oh no”, Asahi repeated. “Asahi-san?” He looked up into Nishinoya’s mischievous grin. “What are you still doing here? If you believe he’s your soulmate, shouldn’t you follow him and apologize?”, the libero asked with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Bokuto was roaming through the building. _That didn’t go well. At. All. Maybe he was just annoying. Unlovable. But Akaashi said-_ “B-Bokuto-san?”, a nervous voice asked behind him. A voice he knew very well. A voice he knew since forever. Now nerve-wrackingly nervous himself, the captain slowly turned around to see his soulmate look at him apologetically. _Oh no. What else did he want?_ “Can we, maybe, talk for a moment?”, Asahi asked and made a loose hand gesture over to the heating units under the windows of the corridor. _Now he wanted to talk._ Bokuto followed him, noticing how they were about the same height and that Asahi’s long hair looked really soft. _Could hair be that soft? It looked even softer than Akaashi’s!_ Asahi suddenly cleared his throat, which dragged Bokuto out of his thoughts and back into the here and now. Dark brown eyes stared into golden ones. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer you- didn’t react back in there. I was honestly shocked! I thought you wanted to challenge me or pick a fight or something! I couldn’t even imagine us being soulmates, because I thought it was clear that you and your setter were”, he explained quickly. It seemed like he wanted to get his words out before his moment of courage was over. Now it was Bokuto who was shocked. “Me and Akaashi? No- We’re best friends! But Kuroo and I are best friends, too, so- I mean- I’m very sure that you are my soulmate! I didn’t even realize that until Akaashi helped me out. He’s really smart, you know. I wanted to get to know you, even before that and- and I thought you hated me”, the captain was rambling now himself. He stopped when he saw Asahi’s face. _Why did he look so constipated? Did he not feel well?_ “Oh, thank you. I feel really stupid now”, the ace scratched the back of his neck. “Now that I listen to you, I do realize that you’re right. I guess you’re my soulmate”, Asahi concluded awkwardly. _What? Oh he had been concentrating. Wait-_ “Really? You’re not messing with me? Konoha sometimes-”, Bokuto answered with a slight pout. “I’m not messing with you, I promise”, his soulmate interrupted him in a low, soothing voice. _Yay._

Asahi let out a shrieking noise, when Bokuto suddenly slung his arms around him and lifted him off his feet. “I’m so happy, Asahi-san! Can I drop the honorifics now? Want to be my boyfriend?” Fukurodani’s captain had found his overexcitement again and Asahi couldn’t help but let out a giggle. Bokuto put him back on his feet, arms still tight around him and gazing into his eyes. Both boys felt heat rising inside them. “I- I’d like that”, Karasuno’s ace stuttered. “The honorifics or the boyfriend?”, Bokuto asked with a little smirk on his lips. “Both actually”, Asahi whispered. _Nice!_


	4. Give It Time (Yaku Morisuke X Kuroo Tetsuroo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaku is worrying about Inuoka and remembers how he got together with his own soulmate.
> 
> Yaku's memory is inspired by this fanart (https://stiirped.tumblr.com/post/615812881382064128/when-u-realize-ur-in-love-w-ur-captain-at-a-team)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

It was the 3rd night of the trainings camp at Shinzen and the Nekoma team sat huddled together on their futons _. Inuoka had lost his smile and it was the fault of Kuroos “disciple”!_ Yaku was fuming.

“Why are you so sure it’s Tsukishima-kun? And how do you know that he dislikes it?”, Shibayama asked for the 100th time and finally got an answer. Inuoka looked like he was about to cry and talked to his hands, that were fiddling with the hem of his pyjama shirt. “I was talking to Shoyo, when he and his friend came over and he was kind of mean to Shoyo, so I tried to lighten the mood and said, that my self-doubts sound just like him. I didn’t really think about what I said, but he looked at me- you should have seen his face- and said ‘well, shit’ and left. I didn’t realize, that my thoughts really do sound like him! I’m sure he’s my soulmate, but- you didn’t see him”, his sad rumbling stopped and the room was quiet for a moment. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way! He doesn’t even really know you, yet! Maybe he didn’t realize as well! When you get to know each other a little better, he’ll notice what an amazing person you are”, Shibayama tried to console his friend and slung his arms around him. Inuoka, who was way taller than the 1st year libero, deflated even more and let himself be held and patted. “Tsukki isn’t that bad, he’s just-”, Kuroo started, watching his teammates with an uncomfortable gaze, but his boyfriend and soulmate interrupted him. “An asshole?! And why do you even call him Tsukki?”, Yaku spat out. He felt his blood boiling through his veins. _That guy really dared to make Inuoka sad?! And Kuroo wasn’t really trying to defend that blond beanpole, right? Right?!_ “We trained together and Bokuto calls him that, too. Are you jealous, Yakkun?”, the captain teased, clearly misjudging the situation. “I’m not jealous! I’m just questioning your handling of the situation! Your Nekoma’s captain, not Karasuno’s, so it’s Inuoka you should be comforting and defending and not that other person!”, Yaku raged, making Kuroo step back a little. “I’m not- I wasn’t- Come on! I clearly don’t want to see Inuoka sad and all, but we don’t know if Tsukki- Tsukishima even realized they are soulmates! He’s that prickly to everyone, so-”, but he got interrupted again, this time, by Inuoka himself. “So I’m not special, which concludes the same thing, that I already lost, before I even had a chance”, he said barely loud enough to be heard over Yaku’s gritting teeth. “Don’t say that! Some people need some maturing to do, before they’re ready for their relationship with their soulmate. He doesn’t deserve you anyway”, the 3rd year libero quickly jumped in, now sounding comforting and not angry anymore, but he didn’t seem to have found the right words, either. _Shit. Was he crying?!_ “Great, Yakkun, you-” and again Kuroo was interrupted. “Do you mind discussing that outside? You’re not helping. At all”, Kenma said sternly, pushed his best friend out of the way and handed the crying 1st year a box of tissues. “Right! Maybe you can talk to that Tsukishima-“, Yamamoto tried to support his boyfriend, until he looked eyes with him and quickly backpedalled, “or not! Just- you know…” After another stern look from Kenma and a soft nod from Kai the mom and dad of the Nekoma Volleyball club left the room.

Outside, on the moonlit corridor, Yaku was still angry. With his arms, crossed over his chest he had turned away from Kuroo, who let out a heavy sigh. “Yakkun”, he whispered his soulmate’s name and stretched out his arms to touch him. Yaku yelped, when he suddenly felt Kuroo’s hands on his hips, but he let himself be pulled closer. He still didn’t look at him though. “Yakkun”, the captain whined into the libero’s ear and finally made his boyfriend face him. “What?”, Yaku hissed, but could feel himself melting a little as soon as he locked eyes with Kuroo. His dark brown eyes distracting the angry smaller boy. “Why are you angry with me?”, Kuroo asked and Yaku rolled his eyes. “Because you defended Tsukishima, like I said and- No!- It’s not because I’m jealous or anything- It’s because I want you to focus on your team. Inuoka lost his smile and I do believe Tsukishima should be held accountable for that!”, he explained as calmly as he could. Kuroo was still holding him close and looking down at him. “You make it sound like he committed a serious crime. Don’t you think you should give them some time? We needed nearly two years, to finally get together!”, Kuroo suggested and Yaku let out a huff. “I do believe it is a crime to make Inuoka cry. Look at him! Can you really endure seeing him like that? And speaking about us- We spent every day together, those two might never see each other again! You know that I was super upset with the whole soulmate thingy, but I do like it now. I like you. And I want Inuoka to be happy, too”, Yaku stated and finally hugged his boyfriend back. “I want them to be happy, too, but don’t you think we should not interfere with the situation too much? We had to sort it out ourselves, as well”, Kuroo mumbled and Yaku let out another deep sigh. _He was probably right. But shouldn’t they try to support them nonetheless? So they could get their happy end quicker than them?_ “Because I would have had bitten their heads off, if they tried to get involved in our… mess”, Yaku whispered and could hear Kuroo chuckling quietly.

Yaku and Kuroo had met on their first year of high school, when they entered the volleyball club. They were as different as they could have possibly been. Always disagreeing on everything, except planning on going to nationals and destroying the other teams. Which they didn’t do that year. Or the following. Kai was the only one who could keep them from being at each other’s throats all the time. Kuroo loved teasing Yaku, but thought of him as someone who had a stick up his ass. Yaku loved contradicting everything Kuroo said and had actually a little fun arguing with him, but he couldn’t accept being disrespected all the time.

During their whole first year they hated each other.

During their second year it became different. They weren’t the youngest in the team anymore and had to care for the new first years. At that time something changed. Kuroo was focusing most of his energy on Kenma, his best friend, his childhood friend. There was less time to get into petty arguments with Yaku, because there were less interactions. Initially Yaku was thankful for Kenma’s appearance and enjoyed his less stressful life. Not that Yamamoto was not stressful, but he was not Kuroo. And Kuroo didn’t have time to pester Yaku anymore.

The libero was very conflicted. He couldn’t pinpoint his own feelings. He didn’t dare to.

Kuroo didn’t seem to notice anything. He focused on volleyball. On Kenma. Becoming captain. On Chemistry. But not on Yaku. And the libero hated himself for these observations. He hated himself for these thoughts. Slowly he recognized the voice expressing these thoughts in his head and he was terrified.

Whenever Kuroo teased him now, Yaku reacted even more irritated. He was so brusque that Kuroo noticed that something had changed, too. Whenever he talked to Kenma about his worries concerning Yaku, his best friend just raised his eyebrows as if he knew something. Kuroo kept pestering him about it, but Kenma didn’t want to explain his thoughts. Since they were just guesses. The future captain felt himself slowly going crazy. But he didn’t figure out what Yaku’s problem was, what Kenma hinted at or why it mattered so much to him. So much that he lost sleep over it.

It was the summer of their second year in high school. The team had trained hard and hoped to qualify for the spring tournament the following spring and to strengthen their team’s bond Kuroo had invited his team to his aunt’s place. They had a huge backyard, where they played a little Volleyball, enjoyed swimming in the pool and had a barbecue, before they went to bed in the basement.

Yaku had tossed and turned for what felt like hours before he finally stood up and tiptoed out of the room. Out of the house. It had been suffocating down in the basement and out in the yard he felt like he could finally breath again. Kuroo had pampered Kenma for the whole day, again, joked around with Kai and Yamamoto and didn’t spare Yaku a second glance. Besides making a comment about his swimming trunks probably being from the childrens’ section.

Kuroo had glanced at Yaku throughout the day. He had also noticed him sneaking out of the basement. Since Yaku had acted all strange lately the captain quietly followed him. He saw the libero standing by the pool, arms crossed over his chest and watching a leaf floating on the water. Kuroo bit back a laugh and tiptoed over to his teammate. “What are you doing out here, Yakkun?”, he asked loudly, when he stood right behind him and grabbed the shorter boy by the shoulders. He wanted scare him a little, but also make sure that he wouldn’t fall into the pool.

The scaring part had worked quite well, because Yaku jumped at the sudden touch and loud voice. What Kuroo hadn’t calculated was, that the libero turned around to see who had sneaked up at him.

Yaku was ready to fight, when he locked eyes with his captain.

A second later they emerged from the water. Snorting and coughing. “Are you okay, Yakkun? I’m sorry- I”, Kuroo anxiously asked and felt weirdly relieved when Yaku stopped gasping for air and glared at him. “Don’t call me that after trying to kill me!”, the libero hissed and Kuroo’s heart fell into his stomach. “I’d never try to kill you, Yaku! I just- I just wanted to make a joke- a little fun, you know?” The captains voice was only a little more than a whisper. “Well I’m not laughing”, Yaku snarled and pulled his pyjama shirt over his head.

Yaku could feel Kuroo’s gaze following his every move. He placed the wet shirt on the pool edge and was about to swim a few rounds, when he locked eyes with the captain again. “What are you doing?”, the taller boy asked, his voice still a little unsure. “I couldn’t sleep and since I’m wet now anyway, I can swim a little, before heading back in”, Yaku answered and watched Kuroo following his example and getting out of his T-Shirt. He hated himself for not being able to look away. They had seen each other changing and even completely naked multiple times, but this felt different. The atmosphere was weird. Kuroo leaned against the edge of the pool. “Do you mind if I stay?”, he asked and looked really insecure. Yaku had expected several things. Another joke. Another snarky comment. Maybe even accusations. But not that. He needed a moment to answer. “D-Do whatever you feel like”, he finally mumbled and started swimming.

After half a round he could still feel Kuroo’s eyes on him, he stopped next to his captain. It was a now or never situation for both of them. It was Yaku who pulled himself together first and spoke out. “Why did you follow me? We’re not close enough, for you to worry about me”, the libero asked and subconsciously got closer to the taller boy. “Why wouldn’t I worry about you? You are my friend, too”, Kuroo answered. He seemed to search for something in Yaku’s face. His expression. His eyes. “We’re not friends”, the libero whispered and put his hands on both sides of Kuroo on the edge of the pool. “Did you know that?”, he asked even more quietly, but insistently. Yaku looked up into his teammates face and saw his lips trembling. Trying to form an answer, to find the right words. “Do you- You mean- Do you mean that we’re”, Kuroo gulped loudly, before he could continue, “that we’re soulmates?” The libero nodded his head. “So you knew.” Now it was Kuroo who nodded. He slowly grabbed Yaku’s shoulders, as if he was afraid he’d suddenly dissolve into thin air. “Then why did you ignore me?”, the smaller boy was still whispering. He felt his body getting hotter with every second they continued to stare at each other. He felt the urge to fight Kuroo off and run away. But this was his only chance. His chance to resolve every possible misunderstanding between them. “I never ignored you- I didn’t mean to- I just- I didn’t know what to do. You hate me, Yakkun!”, Kuroo explained and Yaku felt his stomach tingle at the nickname. “I never hated you”, he growled back. He still couldn’t avert his gaze from Kuroos dark eyes. “Then why did we grew further apart, instead of getting together?”, the tall boy asked and a hint of his usual cheeky self seemed to appear in his face, as the corners of his mouth twitched lightly. Yaku gritted his teeth, not knowing what to answer. He pulled his hands back and tried to turn away, feeling overwhelmed with what he saw in the way Kuroo looked down at him. The captain didn’t let him get away, though. He tightened his grip on Yakus shoulders, before he suddenly held the smaller boys face in his hands and forced him to look back at him. Yaku could feel his heart beat loudly against his ribs. Kuroo smiled at him gently. The libero felt his throat get dry and unconsciously licked his lips. The tall boy noticed it and his smile grew a little wider. “Hey, Yakkun?” “Hmmm?” He wasn’t able to form a more elaborate answer. “Would you like to go out with me? Or do you want to mark this as our first date? A pool date- that’s kind of sexy”, Kuroo suddenly rambled, only to get interrupted by his soulmate. “Just shut up and kiss me and then go to bed”, Yaku sighed. He didn’t expect the captain to comply and froze for a second when Kuroo suddenly pressed his lips to his. Hardly having reacted at all the libero stared up at him, when they separated. Kuroo was still smiling. “Going to bed, huh? Mine or yours?”, he asked with a playful glint in his eyes. “I hate you!”, Yaku snapped and splashed water into his soulmate’s face. Kuroo just laughed: “I love you, too, Yakkun”, before he quickly followed Yaku, wrapping him up in a towel. Kissing him once more.

In Fukurodani’s school corridor Yaku slowly detached himself from his boyfriend. With another deep sigh he looked up at him. “We were so annoying- It was so stressful- But- I hate to admit it- you’re probably right. They’re not us. And they should get the chance to sort it out themselves”, the libero mumbled. Kuroo looked down at him with an exaggerated shocked expression. “Did I hear right? Did you just admitted, that I was right?”, he teased and Yaku rolled his eyes. He tried to back off a little more, but Kuroo had his grip tight on his hips. “But you can at least find out if that Tsukishima is a decent guy, or if I have to threaten him!” Kuroo let out his loud, weird laugh, before he pressed a kiss to Yaku’s forehead. “Okay. I will do it. I promise. As long as you stop being angry with me for things I didn’t do wrong!”, he chuckled. “Got it”, his boyfriend mumbled and pulled on Kuroo’s shirt to press a quick kiss to his lips himself. _Some things just needed time and for him the waiting had been worth it._


	5. Pathetic (Tsukishima Kei X Inuoka Sou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because of Yamaguchi and Kuroo Tsukishima has to do something about his "pathetic" feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

_Pathetic. Since when was he this pathetic?_ Tsukishima let his eyes wander through the gym again. He quickly turned away, when he saw some Nekoma guys whispering and glaring at him. _What were they accusing him of exactly? And why did it even bother him that much? He wasn’t someone who usually felt guilty. He hadn’t even been that mean to them! Just his usual snarky comments._ “Tsukki? Are you okay? Do you feel tired?”, Yamaguchi suddenly interrupted his thoughts. The two best friends looked at each other for a moment, before Tsukishima averted his eyes again. _When did he start being like this? Pathetic._ “Sure I’m tired after running up and down this darn hill”, the tall blond hissed. “Sorry, Tsukki”, Yamaguchi quickly answered. He had been especially jumpy and obedient since they had fought the night Tsukishima had talked to Kuroo and Bokuto about volleyball.

“Don’t you think the atmosphere is a little- a little gloomy?”, the shorter boy thought out loud. The question had sounded casual, but Tsukishima had caught the look his best friend gave him and knew that it had been consciously placed. _Since when had Yamaguchi become so calculating?_ “I mean the weather is especially nice, but inside here”, Yamaguchi shivered to emphasize his words, “it feels kind of chilly.” _What did he know?_ Tsukishima followed the eyes of his friend, back to the Nekoma team. “Am I imagining things or are they glaring at you?”, Yamaguchi kept pestering him with questions. The angry glare he received made him take a little step back, but there was still an innocent smile on his lips. “You want to talk about it?” _Enough!_ “No!”, Tsukishima growled and walked away to put his water back on the bench. “Sorry, Tsukki!”, Yamaguchi called after him, but didn’t get a reaction.

Tsukishima could feel Yamaguchi’s gaze on him throughout the day. However, he didn’t start bothering him again. Both of them were in deep thoughts, when the other players arrived with their food, searching for free seats. “I can’t believe you’re not a starter anymore! You’re so tall and fast! You go swoosh swoosh and-”, they could hear Hinata’s chatter and Inuoka answering him. “Thanks, you’re so woosh yourself! And I will not let Lev take my spot that easily! I’m getting better, too!” Tsukishima noted, that his voice wasn’t as excited and happy as usual. _Why was he noticing this? Why was he caring? Pathetic._ Hinata was taking the chair in front of Yamaguchi, prompting both of them to look up. Inuoka seemed to freeze for a second. “Sorry, Shoyo, I- I will go and eat with Teshiro and Yuuki- See you later”, the tall Nekoma first year excused himself and quickly fled to the other side of the cafeteria. Hinata didn’t seem to give the situation a second thought. He waved his friend off and started a new conversation with Yamaguchi. _About volleyball. What else could he talk about._ Tsukishima’s eyes unconsciously searched through the room until he found the Nekoma first years sitting at a table with some boys from Ubugawa. _He still seemed down. Could it really be that-_ “Tsukki? Are you done? We can go shower now”, his best friend interrupted him. He and Hinata were already standing, their trays in hands. “Uh- Sure.”

The first years were entering the showers together, so Yamaguchi didn’t have time to start a private conversation with Tsukishima. But the taller boy noticed him preparing. So he wasn’t surprised, when his best friend, grabbed his arm and suggested getting a drink out of one of the vending machine on the ground floor. “So what’s up with you and Nekoma? I know I’m annoying you and I’m sorry, Tsukki, but I feel like maybe you should talk about it”, Yamaguchi got straight to the point. He hadn’t even acted like he wanted to get something out of the vending machine or started a more casual conversation to ease his friend into this. “You’re really brave and straightforward lately”, Tsukishima answered in a weak try of changing the subject. _Maybe he should talk about it. Yamaguchi wouldn’t stop until they had that conversation anyway…_ “Okay, okay. I’ll talk”, he sighed and turned a little to the side, acting as if he was looking out of the window. _He didn’t want to see Yamaguchi’s intense stare on him while he explained his thoughts. How pathetic of him._ “I think it might be about what I said to that Inuoka guy”, Tsukishima continued. He could sense his best friend’s confusion, but Yamaguchi didn’t try to interrupt him and he was thankful for that. “He and Hinata- god, they’re even more annoying when they’re together! They were talking and I made a comment- I don’t even remember what I said- something to Hinata, that blockhead, and he- Inuoka- he said that I sounded like his insecurities- as if I was his soulmate in his head- you know the voice- and I made another comment and I think- now he hates me…”, his voice was getting quieter and when he turned around again to look at his best friend, he saw him biting back a smile. “What?”, Tsukishima snapped at him. “You’re rambling, Tsukki. I think that’s a first”, Yamaguchi grinned and continued before Tsukishima could get upset even more, “Inuoka, huh? Do you think he’s your soulmate? How exciting!” The tall blond looked at him in disbelief. “It’s not exciting!”, he clarified a little louder than necessary. Yamaguchi flinched lightly at his raised voice. “Can you imagine that- Us? Us being even friends? He’s like Hinata. He’s talking like a kindergartener! He’s always so damn motivated and excited- He’s not even a starter! What- Why? And now he’s all gloomy and shit, because he thinks I’m his soulmate?”, Tsukishima had talked more quietly in the beginning, but throughout the middle he got frustrated again. “Tsukki. I don’t think-”, his best friend started talking softly, but got interrupted by a deeper voice. “If you shout a little louder you don’t even have to confront him about it. Even though I think it would be better if you’d do some thinking, before actually talking to Inuoka, because I think you got the situation a little wrong”, Nekoma’s captain grinned. “K-Kuroo-san!”, Yamaguchi yelped, while Tsukishima gritted his teeth. “Care to elaborate?”, he hissed, earning another yelp from his friend and a chuckle from the 3rd year. “I don’t think I’m allowed to say too much- Yaku sent me- but Inuoka didn’t lose his smile because you’re his soulmate, but because he thinks you hate him- or the idea of him being your soulmate, so”, Kuroo started to explain and looked at the younger boys intensely. _What?_ “He lost his smile?”, Yamaguchi whispered, but quickly shut his mouth again, when Tsukishima glared at him. _Lost his smile? Because he thought Tsukishima didn’t like him? That was just pathetic! So why was he feeling guilty?!_ “Why would I hate him?”, he mumbled, earning a loud snort from Kuroo. “You just listed all the reasons seconds ago, Tsukki. You better hope that nobody else heard, because Yakkun can get scary when his mother instinct kicks in! …Just don’t tell him I said that”, the captain said, before he wished them a good night and left.

“Soooo… What-”, Yamaguchi shyly started to break the silence, but Tsukishima’s glare made him backpedal, “Sorry, Tsukki, I just- I’ll be quiet!” They went back to their room in silence. Back with their team, Tsukishima went straight to bed. Yamaguchi, and all the others, let him be and didn’t bother him. _Good._ He listened to his best friend and teammates quietly talking and slowly getting ready for sleep. Tsukishima’s thoughts were racing. _Was Inuoka really his soulmate?_ He listened to his own thoughts. _Was this really his voice? What would that mean? What did he think about him? What did he want from him? From this situation?_ Tsukishima turned to his other side and readjusted his blanket. _He was being pathetic. Pathetic and uncool. All of this was so annoying._

Despite him and his thoughts being quite abrasive towards this whole Inuoka-soulmate-chaos, Tsukishima had made a decision over night. _He was pathetic anyway, so he could try to resolve this mess a little_.

Yamaguchi had needed a little more time this morning, which actually suited Tsukishima’s plan well. The taller boy could sense that his friend was noticing that something changed, but he didn’t ask him about it. They entered the cafeteria a little later and quickly grabbed their food. When Tsukishima headed towards the table where the Nekoma first year’s sat, Yamaguchi was a little shocked to see the grim determination in the face of his best friend. “Can we sit here?”, the blond Karasuno player asked. Inuoka was avoiding his eyes, while Shibayama, Teshiro and Lev were quickly gathering their things. “Sure! We’re done anyway”, Shibayama chirped and stacked Inuoka’s bowls onto his own. “I didn’t mean-”, Tsukishima started, but the Nekoma players were already gone. With an annoyed growl he put his tray down and plopped down on a chair. He could feel the eyes off all the other students on the room. _Annoying. Embarrassing. Pathetic._

Tsukishima’s day didn’t get any better. Even after he had quietly talked to his best friend about his decision to try and get to know Inuoka a little better, he didn’t get another chance. Every time he only looked into his direction, either Inuoka quickly fled from the scene or another Nekoma boy, mostly Yaku, blocked Tsukishima from approaching his soulmate.

“Maybe you should try apologizing first, before you try to befriend him”, Yamaguchi bravely suggested, after the official training time ended and the students started their own sessions. “How am I supposed to apologize to him, when I can’t even get into a 3-meter distance to him?”, Tsukishima hissed. He actually felt bad for making Inuoka sad. He also felt bad for constantly snapping at Yamaguchi. _That wasn’t like his usual self. He was getting soft. Soft and uselessly motivated. Pathetic._

“Hey, Tsukki! Are you going to train with Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san again?”, Hinata wanted to know in a mix of excitement and jealousy. Tsukishima didn’t react, so the short redhead just kept talking. “Maybe I’ll come with you! I really want to practice with them, too!”, he nearly screamed. At first Tsukishima felt like snapping at him, too, but when he looked at Hinata, an idea sprouted in his head. “Inuoka is talking to you, right?”, the blond boy asked. Hinata needed a moment to answer this unexpected question. “Sure, why?” “Tell him I want to apologize”, Tsukishima ordered. He quickly glanced at Yamaguchi who seemed to bite back a smile again and now tried to casually turn away. “You apologize to people?! Wait- What do you have to apologize for?”, the red haired boy seemed deeply shocked. “None of your business, just-“, the taller one started, but immediately got interrupted again. “You just want to make sure I won’t train with Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san, too!”, Hinata accused him. “I don’t even particularly want to train with them, just go and tell Inuoka!”, Tsukishima barked at him. _That wasn’t the truth. But why could he not just shut up and do what he was told?!_ He flinched when he felt an arm around his shoulders. “But you will practice with us anyway”, Kuroo smirked and dragged Tsukishima along.

Hinata did crash the training in gym 3 later that evening. He loudly announced that he had delivered the message, but he did not get an answer he could transmit to Tsukishima. Kuroo had smirked even wider upon hearing that and Bokuto had been nosy as always. Even Akaashi seemed interesting in what this fuss was about. “Our dear Tsukki here is having a Bokuto-Asahi-situation”, was all Kuroo explained. Bokuto and Hinata seemed confused for a moment, while Akaashi and Lev knowingly nodded their heads. Tsukishima was ready to physically fight them all and their smiling faces, when Kaori, Yachi and Inuoka appeared in the open gym door. “It’s time to eat! Hurry up and come to the cafeteria”, Kaori informed them, before she grabbed Yachi’s hand and dragged her along in the direction of the food. Both, Tsukishima and Inuoka, froze in their spots, looking at each other. Kuroo and Akaashi, noble as they were, shooed the others out of the room, to give the soulmates a little privacy.

After a moment of silence, which felt like several years, Tsukishima cleared his throat. “I- You- Um- I-“, he stuttered and took a few steps forward. _Pathetic and uncool._ “I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean my comment that harshly that time- I- I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt or- or disappoint you”, he finally got out and looked down at Inuoka’s shoes. “Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry for being disappointing, too”, the Nekoma boy whispered and Tsukishima raised his head so quickly he felt a sting in his neck. He stared at Inuoka intensely. Both of their faces were slightly heated now and Tsukishima couldn’t help but realize, that they were nearly the same height. “You’re not disappointing”, he clarified. Slowly but surely a smile formed on Inuoka’s lips. _This was better._ “Got it”, he answered, smiled at his soulmate and then quickly left to grab dinner. _A little blinding, but way better._

It was so embarrassing to enter the cafeteria last, that Tsukishima had considered not eating dinner at all and directly going to bed. He could feel the eyes of the Nekoma and Karasuno players on him, when he sat down next to Yamaguchi. His back was facing the Nekoma table, but he could hear them whispering. Yamaguchi didn’t ask any questions, which he was thankful for. Admittedly Tsukishima was very surprised, that his other teammates were also withholding. _Why was that? But he shouldn’t complain, or he would lose this peaceful moment._

Tsukishima had been sure, that things would go uphill now and Yamaguchi had agreed to that. But the next, and last day of the trainings camp, he had still hardly any chances to communicate with Inuoka. During the breakfast they had just exchanged shy and awkward glances. Furthermore, there were no chances to privately talk during the training as well and during breaks Tsukishima didn’t feel comfortable to walk over and start a conversation in front of the whole Nekoma team.

“Everything alright, Tsukki?”, Yamaguchi cautiously asked and looked wholeheartedly worried when their eyes met. Tsukishima just let out an annoyed grunt. “Did you talk to Inuoka, yet?” “No.” “Did you already think about how you want to keep in contact with him? Once you started communicating with him, of course!” _Yamaguchi seemed to love to rub salt into his injuries lately. But he was right…_ His face seemed to speak for itself, since his best friend continued to speak. “I mean you could ask him for his number. Hinata and I exchanged numbers with the other first years”, he said with a small smile. He didn’t need to look into his friends face, to see Tsukishima glaring at him. “But you don’t want to give it to me, right?”, the blond hissed and Yamaguchi’s smile grew a little wider. “I can’t just give away numbers if their owners didn’t agree to it”, he smirked. “You still have some time until we leave, you know?”, Yamaguchi added and went over to Yachi to help her refill the water bottles. Tsukishima watched his two friends for a while, until he had to admit, that Yamaguchi was right. He had nearly reached the other side of the hall, where the Nekoma team was chatting, when the coaches resumed the trainings matches.

After the last words of the coaches the Karasuno team got their bags and headed towards the bus. Everybody was saying their goodbyes and Kuroo and Bokuto were talking to him and Hinata, but Tsukishima wasn’t really paying attention. _Now or never._ He abandoned the others and went over to where Inuoka was standing and tried not to stare at him too obviously. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”, Tsukishima asked, hoping that his sudden nervousness wasn’t showing. “S-sure!”, Inuoka answered a little too loudly and quickly followed his soulmate to the side. “If you want to stay in contact, let’s exchange numbers”, the Karasuno player offered and held out his cell phone. Inuoka smiled, grabbed the device and quickly typed in his contact information. “I know I- I will- I’d be glad if we could get closer”, Tsukishima stuttered. _This shouldn’t be so hard! Pathetic._ “I’d love that. Text me when you all arrived in Miyagi”, Inuoka said softly and his soulmate could feel himself mirroring his blinding smile. “Sure”, he mumbled, before feeling awkward again. _That’s enough for today. Time to go!_ But when he was about to turn around and follow his teammates to their bus, Inuoka quickly grabbed his arm. “Make sure to beat everyone in Miyagi and come to the spring tournament”, he grinned. Tsukishima was stunned for a moment, before he let out a snort. “We’ll do. Worry about yourself”, he smirked, but felt his heart beat in his ears, when Inuoka’s smile grew even wider. “Sure thing!”

Only a few weeks later, when the first qualifying rounds were around the corner, Tsukishima and Inuoka were already texting daily. Tsukishima was emphasizing how Inuoka tended to overshare, so that his messages were way too long, but he didn’t fool anyone. Not even Kageyama. Even those who usually didn’t notice anything going on with their teammates, noticed Tsukishima smiling and slowly but surely opening up to them, too. Yamaguchi loved to tease him about it and in private he actually agreed, that he was being pathetic. _Pathetic, but it wasn’t too bad, actually._


	6. You’re cute (Yachi Hitoka X Kirubayashi Runa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yachi and Runa meet by chance at the qualifying rounds for the spring tournament and can't forget each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

The first qualifying rounds for the spring tournament in Miyagi started and Karasuno had already arrived at the Sendai high school. The team was sitting in a corner and preparing for their first match. Usually Yachi would sit with them and either chat with Kiyoko or Yamaguchi, but right now she was scurrying through the corridors, on her way to find Asahi’s Hoody.

 _Just don’t look too suspicious! Why would she look suspicious? She wasn’t doing something forbidden! The contrary actually. It was her job helping her team out!_ Squeezing past much taller and many scary looking students and spectators Yachi wandered around for a bit, until she finally found the missed item. _Oh thank god! She found it and wouldn’t be a disappointment! Now she only had to find her way quickly back to the other’s to help them move and later cheer for them from the stands._ Turning around on her heels she let out a tiny squeak, when she faced another girl, standing right behind- now right in front of her. “I’m so sorry! I’m just- It’s my first time here and I’m searching for the bathroom. Could you maybe help me out?”, the girl asked, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. _Oh no! The bathroom?! Yachi just had been there! Kiyoko had accompanied her! Where was it again?!_ “The bathroom! Sure! It’s my first time here, too, but I’ve been to the bathroom before- anyway! I think it’s right there around the corner. You can see it when you turn right at the entrance”, Yachi explained and sounded slightly out of breath. In an attempt to recover from her shock and calming her beating heart, she pressed the Hoody to her chest. “Oh thank you! I’ve must have run past it! I’m so nervous, even though my team doesn’t even play today. I’m Kirubayashi Runa by the way”, the girl thanked her with an eased smile. Yachi felt herself mirroring the expression, feeling a little calmer herself. “No problem! I’m Yachi Hitoka. So you’re a manager, too? My team has to play next-”, the slightly smaller girl paused and her eyes widened in an alarming way. “I- I have to hurry back to them!”, she whispered and now the other girl was mirroring her expression. “I’m so sorry I held you back! Good luck-“, she started, but stopped at Yachi’s name. _Did she forget her name? Yachi wasn’t too sure how the other girl was named either! How embarrassing for both of them!_ “Hitoka”, the slightly shorter girl helped the other out. _Why did she choose her first name? They weren’t even friends or acquaintances! Was this too straight forward?!_ “Good luck, Hitoka-chan! Oh and your hair tie is really cute”, Runa continued with another thankful, but shy smile. The Karasuno Manager felt her cheeks heating up. “Th-Thank you! You, too!”, she breathed out, trying to hear her thoughts over the heartbeat in her ears. Runa looked a little surprised. _What? What did she say? You, too? Like you’re cute, too?! Runa obviously was! But why did she say it like that? Now?!_ “Oh? Th-Thank you, Hitoka-chan”, Runa whispered, looking very embarrassed, but happy. Yachi didn’t notice, because she was too busy panicking and preparing for her escape. “I’m so sorry! I mean it’s the truth! B-but- I have to go now!!”, Yachi nearly screamed, before she squeezed past Runa and raced through the corridors back to her team.

Kiyoko noticed that Yachi seemed a little mussy, when she arrived and handed Asahi his Hoody, but she didn’t comment on it. Yachi was often in a jittery state. Especially with new things. And this was all new.

During the matches against Ohgiminami and Kakugawa, Yachi didn’t have time to think about her encounter with Runa. But she didn’t forget her either. _Something about the other girl had made her extremely nervous. A different kind of nervous she usually felt around other people. Excited? And at the same time kind of calming? A weird mix of emotions. Maybe her brain was exaggerating again? But something felt familiar. The nervousness?_ Yachi let out a shrill little laugh, which scared Hinata so much he jumped into Kageyama’s arms. While she nonstop apologized and Tanaka and Daichi had to separate the two fighting boys, she forgot about Runa for a moment. But when the chaos had calmed down and the voice in her head overpowered her surroundings again, Runa was back on her mind.

Yachi knew that Runa would be there at the second qualifying round. She knew they could possibly meet again. And she really hoped for that. The longer she kept thinking about the other girl –and she was thinking about her a lot- the more a certain possibility popped up in her head. _The voice in her head- Runa had sounded familiar- Could it be? Was there a possibility, that Yachi, too, had found her soulmate? Her very own soulmate? Like Kiyoko or Tsukishima? Could it really be that this pretty and friendly girl could be her soulmate?! Did Yachi really deserve a person like that?_ Whenever she mulled over this possibility she felt a weird mixture of stress, excitement, warmness and cold feet.

“Hey, beautiful! You’ll give me your number today, right?”, a blond guy with an undercut and playful smile called out to Kiyoko, who tensed up at his voice and turned to Yachi. “You got the number plates, Hitoka-chan?”, the older manager whispered to her. “Sure!”, the younger one quickly responded. _Kiyoko is just too beautiful for her own good! She’s attracting everyone! And that guy looks like trouble! And-_ Suddenly her thoughts slowed down. Her eyes had followed Tanaka and Nishinoya who had been on their way to attack the guy. A girl appeared between them and the blond guy. So Karasuno’s troublemaker duo immediately dropped the subject. Kiyoko seemed relieved about it, but Yachi had stopped in her tracks because of a different girl. _There she was. Kirubayashi Runa. Apparently the manager of the male volleyball team of Johzenji High school. Their opponents today._ “Are you coming? Hitoka-chan?”, Kiyoko softly asked and pulled Yachi out of her head again. “S-sure! Yep. I’m coming”, she breathed out and followed her team. They passed their opponents and Yachi’s eyes met Runa’s for a brief moment. They exchanged shy smiles, before they were both dragged along by their teammates.

During the warm-up phase Yachi and her thoughts were busy, but as soon as she took her place on the stands, Runa was back on her mind. They were standing next to each other. Not exactly next to each other, but their schools cheering spaces were next to each other. Before the match started Yachi’s eyes kept finding Runa’s. But they didn’t dare to do more than exchanging some more coy smiles.

The Karasuno VS Johzenji match was enthralling, but Karasuno managed to win both sets. Yachi was cheering for her team, when her gaze fell on her soulmate again. Runa’s eyes were filled with tears, as she clasped the handrail. _It hurt to see her like that. She could understand her. Seeing her team lose must hurt a lot. Maybe she should talk to her? Offer consolation? Maybe not. She was her opponent after all! But maybe-_ “Hey, Hitoka-chan. Congratulations. Your team did so well”, Runa said, suddenly standing next to her. “Th-thank you! I’m sorry! I mean-”, Yachi stuttered, but fell silent when her soulmate took her hands in her. “Don’t feel bad! Can- Would you like to exchange numbers, because I thought- Maybe”, now it was Runa who was stumbling over her words. _What? Numbers? Sure! What? Soulmates!_ “I’d love to. I mean- I thought, too- If you meant that”, Yachi whispered and returned the pressure of Runa’s hands. _Did she mean that? Had Yachi answered hastily again?_ The bright smile on the other girl’s face eased her muddling thoughts. Runa quickly let go of her hands and took out her phone. Yachi missed the warmth of her hands the second it left her, but felt all warm and mushy when she fumbled for her phone.

After Runa and Yachi had exchanged contact information, they were able to meet up in a more relaxed setting. In a cute café they were able to confirm that they were each other’s soulmates. Yachi was happy. Runa was really easy to be with. They were both first years and bonded over their positions as managers and shy personalities. _Being with each other was nice. Comforting. And Runa was really cute. She always giggled when Yachi told her that._ “You’re really cute yourself, Hitoka-chan!”


	7. Second Glances (Misaki Hana X Terushima Yuuji)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana knows who her soulmate is, but doesn't know how to approach him. Terushima notices nearly too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

_There was no chance they were recovering from this, when they were not taking it seriously even now._ Hana let out a mute sigh. She glanced over at coach Anabara and noticed him making a disappointed face as well. _The team of Johzenji High school could play phenomenal, but they were always way too reckless!_ The coach and 3rd year manager watched their team intensely. Johzenji was giving Karasuno a hard time, but after a failed copy of the synchronized attack, the yellow dressed team had lost the first set.

Hana distributed water bottles and towels, while coach Anabara was trying to simultaneously scold and motivate the team. Regardless of that, Terushima, the new captain of the team, still showed a playful smile. “Their number 10 can jump really high!”, Bobata mused and his teammates and friends quickly agreed. “Just like their banner”, Futamata agreed. “Ours is really lame!”, Higashiyama added. Hana took the water bottles back and looked at her team. “I think ‘Simplicity and Fortitude‘ is very cool”, she countered, but her captain objected quickly. “It doesn’t matter if it’s cool or not. It doesn’t fit. It neither fits our team, nor our generations or those to come… That’s what I think”, Terushima explained and Hana had to admit he looked kind of cool saying that. _In moments like this he seemed really cool. Like a good guy. But other times-_ She needed a while to avert her gaze from her captains face. He didn’t notice. He was focused on his friends and teammates. _They just wanted to have fun. Always. He always just wanted to have fun! Did he take anything seriously?_ Hana watched the boys go back to the field. She felt a little uneasy as she watched them getting ready.

The second set was as nerve-wrecking as the first one. Coach Anabara and Hana could see their team getting more and more flustered and frustrated. Their playing style was getting messy. _Messier than usual. The kind of messy that didn’t work out in the end._ The manager felt relieved when they got a timeout and their team huddled together around the bench she was sitting on. “We just have to hang in there! We just have to try harder!”, Terushima announced in a loud and frustrated voice. “Exactly!”, Bobata quickly agree. “Right! It will work out somehow!” “But what about the number 10?” “Good question…” “I have no idea. You?” “No…” The team looked back at their captain, who now seemed even more frustrated. “We shouldn’t worry about that too much! We just need to hit with more kaboom! Kaboom always helps!”, the blond boy roared and received loud support from his teammates. _More Kaboom? How was that support to work?!_ Hana had tried to keep her own frustration to herself, but in this moment she remembered the words of the former captain Okudake. _Kick their asses if necessary._ “What do you mean more kaboom?”, she shouted, catching her whole team and even coach Anabara off guard. She literally felt steam coming out of her ears. _If they didn’t want to lose this match, they’d have to wake up now!_ “You’re always just trying to solve everything with a good mood and playfulness! There will always be phases in which you can’t get ahead with fun!”, she continued her rant, while the boys seemed to shrink under her gaze. “Having fun, even though you’re playing badly and loosing? Who’s still having fun then is weird or a pervert!”, Hana stated coldly, her hands on her hips, still staring down her team. “Mi-Misaki? Are you okay?”, the coach carefully asked. Hana slightly turned to him. “I’m sorry coach, but it had to be said! They have to become aware of their weakness now”, she explained, before she turned back to the boys, locking eyes with Terushima. “Okudake asked me to kick their asses if necessary”, now there was a hint of a smile in her face. “Asses?”, Bobata whispered, making her look away from the captain and feeling a little embarrassed. “Did Hana really say-?” “Asses?” “She did!” The team kept whispering and Hana felt her rage and confidence crumbling. But before she could retreat, Terushima started to speak again, getting the attention back on him. “True… the current situation is really no fun. It bugs me, but they obviously have more fun than we do”, he declared and the thoughtful look on his face was a new sight for the coach and manager. “Okudake said you need it to be your playground to truly have fun”, Hana sounded a lot softer now, “I do not mean that you should play less risky. Granted, you may look like idiots, but you're not. You can also have fun while thinking and concentrating.” Half of the boys looked offended, the other half embarrassed, but in Terushima’s eyes seemed to burn a fire again. “Then let’s go and have fun again!”, they cheered. _These guys hardly ever think about what could happen. They just think about how much they’d enjoy a win._

The rest of the second set, went a lot better. But in the end, after another try of the synchronised attack, Johenzji lost to Karasuno with 20 to 25 points. The coach and manager watched their team yell out in frustration. “This departure really suits them. I have to thank you, Misaki. Once again you have proven that you simply know the boys best. Thanks to you, they've pulled themselves together. You are a good manager”, coach Anabara suddenly said. “Thank you for saying that”, Hana whispered. With a bittersweet smile she looked at the team coming over to the bench. Now, with everyone around, the coach addressed the whole team. “Well- How should I start? You have shown an impressive performance, but don't get overexcited. Next time you will not have anyone to get you back on track. All right, let's leave. Do not forget to stretch.” And with that he left first, leaving Hana in front of the boys. “Uh- So- Try to not make Runa any problems, alright? She’s a 1st year after all! I’ll keep an eye on you!”, the manager was now giving a little speech herself. _For the last time._ “Oh- One more thing- The fact that you have always tried to have fun with all your might has really impressed me”, she added, breaking out into a teary smile. _The last time._ Hana grabbed her things and turned away. “Let’s go. The next match will start soon.” She was nearly through the door, when she suddenly heard the captain’s loud voice. _This familiar voice._ “Thank you for everything!”, he shouted and when Hana looked back over her shoulder she saw the whole team bowing. After a soft giggle escaped her lips, she quickly turned to leave again.

Coach Anabara, Runa and most of the players had already left. Hana had taken her time, sorting the equipment and packing the uniforms to wash them later. _She didn’t expect to feel this sentimental, after the game. Her last game. She was no longer the manager of the Johzenji volleyball team. It was scary how sad she felt. She wouldn’t be able to watch them play anymore. She wouldn’t be able to watch him play anymore. They wouldn’t see each other anymore at all. Hana had told them that she’d watch them, but would she really bring herself to do that? Wouldn’t it be even more melancholy to do that? Should she have told him?_ Hana rubbed her hands over her face and breathed deeply for a moment. _Get yourself together!_ She stared into her locker _. Maybe she could pack her personal stuff tomorrow. After saying goodbye to Runa. Maybe-_ A knock on the door of the manager’s room interrupted her stream of thoughts. With a loud bang, that made herself flinch, she quickly closed her locker and turned around to the door. With her bag over her shoulder she opened the door and looked up into Terushima’s face. “Oh. You- You’re still here? I thought I was the last- Are you guys done so that I can lock up?”, Hana stuttered, after she had quickly averted her eyes from the captain’s face. She squeezed past him and locked the manager-room’s door. When she did the same with the boy’s room, Terushima finally spoke. “Since when did you know? You know- do you?”, he asked. She had never heard him talk so softly. So urgently. The captain patiently waited for her reaction. Hana kept facing the door, even though she had already put the keys back into her pocket. “Yes, I- I’ve known for some time- Probably already for a year or so…?”, she answered quietly. She waited as anxiously for a reaction from him, as he did before. “That’s quite some time, Hana-san. Why did you never say something?”, he wanted to know and let out a slightly annoyed sigh, when she kept facing the door. “Would you mind looking at me, when you turn me down?”, Terushima demanded and the manager followed his request. Hana slowly turned around. After closing her eyes for a moment to gather some courage, she looked up into his eyes again. Her heart skipped a beat when his brown eyes locked hers. _How cliché. How hopeless._ “Why do you think I’ll turn you down? Aren’t you the great Terushima Yuuji, the Casanova of the school?” She didn’t plan on sounding as sarcastic as it had come out. _But she could hardly take it back now_. Terushima seemed annoyed and knitted his eyebrows together. “What has some image I have going on in this school, has to do with you not telling me that we’re soulmates?”, he asked a counter question. _It was weird hearing it said out loud. Soulmates._ “I- I didn’t know how or when!”, Hana’s raised voice, surprised herself, but it didn’t stop her from getting everything soulmate related off her chest. “You were the one talking about how you wanted to live your life to the fullest until you meet your soulmate. And how you’d totally notice it when you’d meet her- like a cheesy movie scene! You were always after other girls and-“, but her rambling was cut short by Terushima. He held his hands high in defence and answered in a similar loud voice. “If the problem is that you’re jealous- I clearly didn’t know we’re soulmates and you knew I was just having some fun- It was never something serious- I”, now it was Hana who interrupted her soulmate’s rant. “It doesn’t matter if I was jealous or not- When you never spared me a second glance, waiting for your gorgeous and perfect soulmate, how did you expect me to come and talk to you about it? The last thing I wanted was you feeling obligated to like me! Since you weren’t interested in me, I was not going to beg and force myself on you”, she explained and crossed her arms in front of her chest. For a second something appeared on Terushima’s face that surprised Hana. _Was it guilt? Surprise? Regret?_ But it quickly changed to a defensive and accusing look. “Are you sure you weren’t just disappointed that you got me, instead of Okudake?”, he snarled and let out a fake and mocking laugh. “Oh? Did I hit the nail on the head?” The girl felt anger boil inside her. She felt guilty and exposed. “So what if I liked him? That was before I even know you! And I knew we weren’t meant to be and I didn’t do anything! Are you saying I did greater injustice, because I developed feelings for someone who was nice to me, when you were too busy fooling around to listen to your own thoughts?”, she barked back at him, prompting him to back off a little. _This was enough. He knew now. She was done here. Nothing left to do. Nothing left to say._ With trembling fingers, she grabbed the straps of her backpack and straightened up. She glared at Terushima and felt proud that the intense stare of his eyes didn’t fluster her to the extent of making her forget what she wanted to do. _She had liked Okudake. She did like Terushima, too. Those feelings were different, but somehow the same. It was confusing. But both were lost battles._ Hana pressed herself past him, trying not to touch him. “Where are you going?!”, she heard the captain shout after her. The 3rd year stopped in her tracks. _He wasn’t her captain anymore._ “I’m leaving. I’m not part of the team anymore”, she answered loud enough for him to hear, before she started to walk again.

The following day was weird. The volleyball players of the Johzenji high school were in their classrooms, trying to listen to their teachers, but only being able to think about the matches they weren’t able to play. Terushima laid his cheek on his table. _He felt weird._ _His friends were talking about Karasuno’s number 10 and the setter, when it was clearly the captain that was the reason for their success. Yesterday’s match bugged him as much as the others, but there was something else on his mind. Now that he recognized the voice of his thoughts, he felt like it’d drive him crazy._

There was no practice after school today and Futamata and Bobata had left to hang around somewhere. Terushima had told them he’d follow them later. That he had forgotten something in the locker rooms.

He strolled over to the gym. _Since when was he this sentimental? This worried. There were so many thoughts and questions in his head. Was he a good captain? Had he done enough? Was he a bad person? Did he deserve his soulmate? Did he want her? Ugh. Her voice would drive him crazy by next week, if he wouldn’t be able to get over this soon!_ Terushima stopped with his hand on the doorknob of the locker room. He could hear the managers’ voices in the next room. “That sounds amazing, Runa-chan! I’m glad you found Hitoka-chan”, Hana giggled and this new sound made the captain’s heart beat loud and fast in his chest. _Did he want her? Did she want him?_ “I felt really conflicted, because I’m so sad for our team, but I’m also so happy for Hitoka-chan! I’d give everything to see her cute smile”, Runa admitted sounding shy and excited at the same time. _For them it was easy. Soulmates. What a chaos._ Terushima was still standing there, one arm extended, when the door next to him opened and the two girls stepped out of the room. Runa was smiling brightly and Hana looked at her with such a fond expression, that Terushima felt his cheeks heat up. _Feelings. He hated them. They were just too complicated._ Runa and Hana froze, when they saw the boy staring at them. The 1st year blushed deeply when she noticed the way the other two looked at each other. “I’ll be on my way home”, she announced and quickly left. “What are you doing here?”, Terushima asked Hana, who averted her eyes and grabbed the straps of her backpack. “I got my stuff out of Runa’s room”, she explained. _She wasn’t a manager anymore. The captain had nearly forgotten._ “What are you doing here? There is no practice today”, Hana asked and Terushima finally took his hand off the doorknob to run his fingers through his hair. _If she left now, she wouldn’t come back._ “I did spare you second glances”, the captain suddenly admitted. Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly. _Did she want him?_ “How did you notice it was me? I mean- It took me until yesterday. Until you dragged us for playing badly”, he continued, hoping that she wouldn’t slap him or run away. “One day- when you were still new to the team- your voice cracked during training and the voice in my head did the exact same thing. It was ridiculous. I hadn’t heard you talk that seriously before and the voice crack wasn’t really helping with that, but- but after that moment, it was clear that the voices were identical”, she remembered and it looked like she fought a smile. “That really sounds ridiculous”, Terushima agreed, rubbing his neck with one hand and burying the other in the pocket of his pants. It was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry for what I said yesterday, I guess”, he mumbled. _Not exactly what he had planned to say._ Hana raised her eyebrows, but quickly shook her head. “It’s okay. We both had to get all that off our chests, so don’t worry about it”, she repelled and attempted to squeeze past him, but Terushima grabbed her arm. “Go on a date with me”, he said, hoping that it didn’t sound like a command. “Why? I thought-”, Hana started, a mixture of feelings visible in her eyes. “Let’s get to know each other. Then you can still decide if you want to do anything about the soulmate thing”, he quickly added. She waited a moment. _This was torture._ “Okay”, she finally answered, removed his hand from her arm and made her way past him. Terushima felt a warm, bubbly feeling go through his whole body. _Feelings. Maybe they were more fun than he thought._ He quickly followed her, grinning from one ear to the other. “So where do you want to go?”, he asked. “Home. Alone! I don’t have time for you today”, Hana replied sternly. Terushima’s smile fell. She smirked. “See you tomorrow, Yuuji-kun”, she whispered and waved, before she ran off. _Way more fun than he thought. He wouldn’t want anybody else again, he was sure about that. He just needed to wait and see if it was the same for her._


	8. Romeo and Juliet (Kuguri Naoyasu X Shibayama Yuuki)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two rivals notice they are soulmates during the Tokyo qualifying round for the spring tournament. Out of fear of rejection from their teammates and friends, they keep it a secret.
> 
> This fanart: https://selpeda.tumblr.com/post/151342247723/bullying-the-smol-cat was an inspiration for this chaper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

The Tokyo qualifying rounds for the spring tournament were held at the Sumida City Gymnasium. Nekoma were getting ready for their game against Fukurodani. If they would win this game they would be going to the spring tournament, even if they’d lose the following match against Itachiyama. If they would lose against Fukurodani, they’d have to win the following match against Nohebi to attend the spring tournament. _This wasn’t impossible. But it would be difficult. And even though he was just the substitute libero, Shibayama still felt nervous._ He and Lev were on their way back to the team. Lev had taken forever on the toilet so the both 1st years only heard the end of the conversation between Kuroo and the captain of Nohebi, Daishou Suguru. _It was more a fight than a conversation._ Shibayama watched the other Nohebi player’s, who arrived to collect their captain. _Even the shortest of them was still at least 10cm taller than Shibayama. They seemed quite scary._ Lev seemed to think differently about the situation. He instantly interfered in the conversation between the two captains and declared that the Nekoma team were different this year. _This guy. Shibayama would have never dared to do something like this._ But Lev didn’t get into trouble with Nohebi, since Yaku was next to him in a heartbeat, scolding him and teasing him for taking too long to shit.

Since Yaku was still a starter and a very good libero, Shibayama was more of a manager to his team, than a fellow player. During the match against Fukurodani he just cheered for his team, distributed drinks and towels during breaks and watched the other’s play. _He admitted that he felt a little jealous, but not to the extent that Inuoka felt. It must be hard to play as a starter first and then get degraded, because Lev was so tall. But Inuoka was a good person and would never hold it against him. And Shibayama was too nervous to be really jealous. He wouldn’t be able to replace Yaku._

In the end Nekoma had lost the match against Fukurodani, who would now play against Itachiyama to determine the first and second representative of the Tokyo prefecture. Nekoma would have to fight with Nohebi for the opportunity to attend the spring tournament.

Shibayama went back to the toilets to refill the team’s water bottles. _Inuoka had offered to help him, but the shorter boy had declined. His friend might get the chance he was dying for this game. The substitute libero would keep his manager position until Yaku had graduated. He wasn’t good enough yet anyway, so it was okay._

After all the bottles were full again, Shibayama shouldered the bag, left the bathroom and bumped into someone. That someone was taller than the substitute libero and wore a green and white trainingsjacket _. Oh god. He had run directly into their next opponents. The team Kuroo had warned them about, because they were sneaky and tricky. Nohebi._ “Sorry”, Shibayama breathed out and tried to squeeze past the group of taller boys, but someone blocked his way. “Oh? Isn’t that the new small cat? Are you a manager or a substitute?”, their captain asked, a smirk visible on his lips. “I’m a libero”, Shibayama answered, unsure why he talked to them anyway instead of running away. “But they only let you do the manager stuff, because they got Yaku? Poor you”, Daishou continued and patted the dark hair of his opponent. “We could lock you up here somewhere, but that wouldn’t really help us, because you’re not important to the game… So what to do? What do you think?” Daishou’s smile was threatening and Shibayama felt himself panicking. _Why did he let them stop him? Why did he let them make fun of him? But they were right. He wasn’t important to the game. But it was important to bring the bottles back to the team and cheer them on. They needed to concentrate not to worry. And at least Inuoka would worry if he wouldn’t come back._ Shibayama looked up at the boys in front of him, when another voice said something. _A voice Shibayama hadn’t heard before, but felt really familiar. It felt intimate._ “Let him be”, a tall boy, with tired eyes and light messy hair told Daishou. “Come on Kuguri”, the captain playfully whined. Kuguri didn’t bat an eye, grabbed the back with Nekoma’s bottles and put it on his own shoulder. “I’m taking him back”, he announced and pushed Shibayama past the Nohebi team. “You’re no fun”, Daishou announced, but didn’t hinder them. “And hurry up! We have to beat them soon!”

_What was happening? What did just happen? Why did he not feel more uncomfortable being rescued by someone he didn’t know? By his opponent? By the someone with a familiar voice._ Shibayama couldn’t help but stare up at Kuguri, who walked next to him, still looking tired, nearly bored. “What’s your name?”, he suddenly asked in a gentle voice, that made Shibayama’s heart take up speed. “Shibayama Yuuki. I’m the 1st year libero of Nekoma”, he introduced himself. “I’m Kuguri Naoyasu, a 1st year wing spiker of Nohebi”, Kuguri’s voice flowed through Shibayama’s ears and something clicked. _Oh? Oh! That voice- Kuguri Naoyasu? Was he-?_ Suddenly Kuguri halted his steps and put the Nekoma bag down. “I guess you’d rather go back to your friends by yourself and I’m not really in the mood for a fight”, the Nohebi player explained and buried his hands in the pockets of his team jacket. “Uh- Th-thank you”, Shibayama quickly replied. After another awkward and curious stare Kuguri nodded to him and left.

When he appeared next to his team, Shibayama felt a little mussy and didn’t answer, when Inuoka questioned him about the long time he had needed to refill the water. _They didn’t had time to chat anyway. The match against Nohebi was about to start. He had to cheer on his team now. They needed to win and go to the spring tournament._

The match against Nohebi was, like Kuroo had foreseen, a tricky one. Shibayama did his best concentrating on the game and cheering on his friends, not his encounter with Kuguri. This task became even more difficult, when Yaku injured himself.

The starter libero had twisted his ankle, when he had saved a ball for his team. Shibayama could see the frustration in his face, but his own fear tied up his throat. _What was he supposed to do now? He wasn’t half as good as Yaku. He wouldn’t be as helpful. Could they even trust him to be on the court? Admittedly, they didn’t have a choice. Shibayama had to play._ “Good luck! You will do well!”, Inuoka tried to cheer him up, but his words didn’t fully reach his friend. Shibayama tried his best to concentrate, but his thoughts and doubts started to race again, when Nohebi obviously singled him out. _They knew he couldn’t do it. They had known even before the match. They rightfully targeted him. He dragged his whole team down. He couldn’t move. He was a failure. He-_ Shibayama’s self—destructive monologue got interrupted by coach Nekomata. _Time-out. They couldn’t take him out again, but he didn’t want to either. He wanted to be helpful! He needed to pull himself together and do his best to follow into Yaku’s footsteps._ “I’m sure we’ll be fine. It’s Shibayama’s first official game after all”, Kenma’s quiet voice said and his team felt themselves calm down. “Maybe we can have Lev sub out with Shibayama, so that Kuroo stays in for the whole time”, he suggested and Shibayama immediately agreed. “We can do that. I-I’ll do my best!” _He could do it! He’d prove himself!_

Shibayama still needed some time to fit himself into the on-court team dynamic, but after a while he could perfectly receive Daishou’s serve. The match continued point after point. Sometimes it was difficult for the 1st year to remain completely focused when he happened to lock eyes with Kuguri. _But he told himself that he needed to concentrate. That he’d be able to deal with the Nohebi player and his voice later. He needed to focus on the moment!_ Nekoma needed only one more point and Kuguri was the one jumping to hit the ball. Shibayama felt time slowing down when he looked into Kuguri’s face again, who, however, looked at Lev blocking his way. _Now was the time to prove himself! The rest needed to wait for later._ Kuguri’s eyes snapped to the libero, the only way he could hit the ball now. This time Shibayama was able to receive perfectly, again and Kenma and Yamamoto were able to make the last point. _They had won. They had really won! And he had contributed to the win! He had proven himself._ Lev screamed in excitement and high-fived his friend. Shibayama could only get a glimpse at Kuguri leaving the field with his team. He was shocked when he saw him crying, but he didn’t have the chance to do anything, even if he had been able to think of something, because his own team huddled together to celebrate. “We’ll go to nationals!!!”

All the matches were over now and Shibayama knew he had to hurry. He quickly dried his hands and was about to leave the bathroom, when a tall figure blocked his way. The smaller boy gulped and looked up into the face of Kuguri Naoyasu. _Was he here to take revenge or because of something different?_ “You played well”, Kuguri suddenly said, hands deep in his pockets, but something like a small smile visible on his lips. “Huh? Oh. Th-thank you, you too!” _So he wasn’t here for vengeance. But could Shibyama really be sure about the voices?_ For a moment it was silent between the boys. They stared at each other, searching for the confirmation, that they were right. That the other also knew that they were soulmates. “Uhm- Do you- Can I get your number?”, the libero stuttered and he felt relieved when the smile on Kuguri’s face became more prominent. “Sure, if you’d like to”, he mumbled and took out his cell phone. They quickly exchanged contact information, before both of them had to hurry back to their teams. Shibayama felt warm and fuzzy inside and kept his phone tightly in his hands. Although he didn’t dare to talk to any of his teammates and friends about what had happened.

It was Kuguri who texted Shibayama first, asking him directly if he asked for his number, because he believed they were soulmates. It felt weird confirming that they were soulmates over text. But Shibyama felt relieved, because he imagined it to be more difficult face to face. They met up secretly a few times and to their surprise it felt easy to spend time together. Despite not being able to see each other too often they grew close fast. Although they liked each other a lot, maybe because they liked each other a lot, they kept being soulmates a secret. Afraid of rejection from their rivalling teammates.

“Hey, Shibayama, did something good happen?”, Inuoka asked, startling his friend in the process. “Huh? How- Why do you think that?”, Shibayama stumbled over his words, earning a blinding smile from the taller boy. “You just looked so happy, when you checked your phone after practice”, Inuoka explained. The two boys always walked home together, so it was especially hard to not tell Inuoka anything about Kuguri. _Maybe he should just be brave and try telling his friend. Inuoka wouldn’t judge him. He was always so understanding._ “Yes, kind of- actually”, Shibayama inhaled deeply to calm his nerves, “I found my soulmate.” _Now it was out._ Inuoka beamed at him. “Really? That’s so cool! Why didn’t you say something? Who is it? How did you meet? Did you know from the start or-”, Inuoka kept babbling in excitement and didn’t notice how nervous his friend was. “I- It was- wait- let me start from the beginning and please promise me to keep an open mind”, Shibayama nearly begged. The taller boy let out a small laugh. “My soulmate isn’t exactly what most people dream of, so no worries! I promise I’m open minded”, he reassured, the curiosity prominent in his eyes. The libero nervously intertwined his fingers and took another deep breath, before he quickly shared his story. “Do you remember the qualifying round for the spring tournament? Before the match against Nohebi- I went to refill the bottles and actually ran into them in front of the bathroom. Their captain teased me- you know… like they later did during the match- but one of their players- he kind of saved me and he accompanied me back- I had noticed a familiarity in his voice from the start and I think I was sure of him being my soulmate when we talked after the match. We exchanged numbers and he texted me and we confirmed being soulmates”, Shibayama explained and was thankful that Inuoka just listened. _Now it was out._ He stared up into his friend’s face, still afraid of his reaction. Inuoka seemed deep in thought, before he slowly began to speak. “So it’s one of the Nohebi player’s?”, he asked and Shibayama confirmed with a nod. “Which one?”, he asked another question. “He’s really tall, with light hair and he always looks sleep deprived”, Shibayama shyly replied and felt a wave of relief wash over him, when Inuoka broke out into a teasing smile. “Oh I think I know! He’s handsome”, he giggled and Shibayama joined in. _Had it been this easy all this time?_ “Won’t Tsukishima be annoyed if you called someone else handsome?”, the shorter boy asked half teasing, half curious. “What my boyfriend doesn’t know, can’t annoy him. It’s not like I’m cheating on him, when I’m calling someone else handsome”, Inuoka responded cheerfully, but Shibayama could see in his face how much he missed Tsukishima. “So- How is it going? Does anybody know about you two being soulmates?”, he wanted to know, after snapping out of his thoughts of his boyfriend. “Only you”, Shibayama confirmed and then continued with a bright smile and red cheeks, “It’s really nice, actually. We’re meeting up whenever we can. I really like him.” _He did. And hearing Inuoka call Tsukishima his boyfriend, made Shibayama want to do the same. Kuguri was his soulmate, but the label of boyfriend, would be nice as well._ “I’m really glad to hear that. I understand that you two keep it on the down low, but I’m sure nobody will give you a hard time”, Inuoka said in a reassuring manner and wrapped an arm around Shibayama’s shoulders.

Shibayama had thought about his conversation with Inuoka a lot. Though he didn’t have the guts to talk to Kuguri about. He just informed him, that he had told his friend about them being soulmates. Kuguri hadn’t deepened the subject either. So Shibayama just hinted at a slight step forward in their relationship, when he invited his soulmate to his school festival. The Nekoma high school was celebrating an anniversary. School clubs like the theatre, cooking or music club were preparing performances and stalls. Shibayama was glad that he didn’t have to prepare anything since the volleyball club qualified for the spring tournament. _He could just enjoy the day with his soulmate and maybe finally bring up his thoughts regarding the future of their relationship. Inuoka had encouraged him a lot. Hopefully nothing would go wrong._

On the day of the festival Shibayama picked Kuguri up from the train station. Out of habit he had checked if someone of the Nekoma team was near. Shibayama felt guilty for being so secretive. _It was as if he was ashamed of Kuguri. Which he wasn’t! He really liked him and he wanted his friends to like him, too._

“What are you worrying about?”, Kuguri wanted to know, nudging Shibayama with his elbow. “I-I’m not worrying! I’m fine!”, the smaller boy answered too loud and too quickly. Kuguri just raised an eyebrow and Shibayama gave in immediately. “I just thought- We- Would you mind if I called you my boyfriend?”, he asked shyly. He didn’t dare to look up into his soulmate’s face, so he flinched, when Kuguri slung his arm around his shoulders and pressed his face into his hair. “Why would I mind? I like you, Yuuki”, he whispered and Shibayama felt his whole body heat up. When Kuguri let him go their eyes finally locked. _Inuoka was right. This was too nice to hide and hold back._

During their walk to the Nekoma high school grounds the two soulmates were freely chatting, but when they entered Shibayama could feel his boyfriend tense up a little. Without much thinking, he grabbed Kuguri’s hand and held it tightly. _He couldn’t imagine how scary it would be to enter his rival school with his secret boyfriend and soulmate._ Kuguri squeezed his hand shortly and let himself be showed around the school grounds.

They walked around for a while, listened to a song performed by the school’s band in a spare class room, before wandering to the stalls of the cooking club. “What do you want to eat?”, Kuguri asked, looking over the crowd onto the signs next to the stalls. “How about Taiyaki? What else is there I can’t see the other signs”, Shibayama answered. They discussed their snack choices and Shibayama enjoyed the subtle touches. Since they decided on being boyfriends now, they got a little more open in public. Kuguri kept his hand on his back or shoulder whenever it got a little crowded and when they aimlessly wandered around the buildings they held hands. They nearly forgot why they had been so nervous about being public, until two overexcited voices appeared behind them. “Hey! Shibayama! Over here!”, Lev shouted and Shibayama felt Kuguri tense up. They kept their fingers intertwined when they turned around to see Lev and Inuoka running towards them. “Hi. What are you guys up to?”, Shibayama greeted his friends and Kuguri nodded to them. Lev mustered the situation in front of him curiously, but before he could say something insensitive, Inuoka started talking: “We’re just wandering around, but the team is meeting later next to the gym. We’re getting snacks for that. If you want you can come, too!” Inuoka smiled, Lev and Kuguri stared at each other and Shibayama felt himself shivering from his nerves. “Sure, thanks! We’ll see you later”, he quickly bid their farewell and dragged Kuguri with him in another direction. “What just happened? Wasn’t that one of the Nohebi guys?”, they heard Lev ask loudly and Inuoka answering hastily. “It was, but please be quiet! I’ll explain it to you later!” _This would be a great opportunity in coming clean to his other teammates and friends. But it would be scary._

“You want to meet with your team later, right? I mean- you want us –me and you- to meet your team, later, right?”, Kuguri quietly asked and Shibayama couldn’t tell if he was nervous or not. If he wanted to or not. The two boys had found a quieter school corridor, where they leaned against a wall and shared their snacks. “I do want to, but it’s also really scary”, Shibayama admitted and subconsciously leaned a little closer into his soulmate’s side. They were quite for a moment, just munching on their last Taiyaki, until Kuguri crumbled the paper bags in his fist. “We can try it. Your friend seemed nice enough, but I can’t promise you that there won’t be trouble- I saw Daishou and Numai a while ago”, the Nohebi boy said, looking down to his boyfriend. “Oh really? Huh… but it seems like this would be the best opportunity, don’t you think?”, Shibayama replied. _He really hoped that this would went well. He really wanted to all their friends to accept and support them._ “Then let’s go”, Kuguri yawned and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand. “But when we’re home you’re napping with me! No video-games. No tv. Just a nap”, he requested. Shibayama accepted with a giggle.

On their way to the gym Shibayama could feel both their hands getting sweaty. _So under his passive demeanor Kuguri felt as nervous and insecure as he did. Knowing this was somehow comforting._ “Hi guys”, the substitute libero greeted his friends shyly who were sitting in front of their gym. They all smiled at him until they noticed Kuguri next to him. Kuroo and Yamamoto immediately stood up to their full height. “What is that guy doing here? Isn’t he a Nohebi?”, Yamamoto growled, but got instantly scolded by Kenma. “A Nohebi? They’re not our archenemies in an RPG or something like that. And since he’s holding Shibayama’s hand I’m guessing that he’s not here to talk to you anyway”, the voice of the setter rang out behind his Nintendo. _How was it possible that he sounded bored and stern at the same time? It was quite impressive._ Yamamoto deflated and went back to sit next to his boyfriend. Kuroo back down a little, too, but he still looked suspicious. “Uh- T-this is Kuguri Naoyasu. H-he’s my soulmate and boyfriend”, Shibayama finally introduced his companion. Kuguri greeted them with a nod. “So you two are soulmate’s, huh? Are you treating our libero well?”, the captain suddenly wanted to know. Shibayama felt his face heat up, but Kuguri seemed to slowly relax. “I guess so. He didn’t complain, yet”, the Nohebi boy replied and took a snack offered by Inuoka. “He’s treating me very well, thank you very much”, Shibayama declared loudly and with burning cheeks. _This should be enough. They should be able to accept it now._

“Oh! What do we have here?”, someone snarled and Daishou along with a few other Nohebi players came around the corner. _Now the second part was about to start._ “Hanging around at our school festival. What are you doing here, snake boys?”, Kuroo shot back. Shibayma and Kuguri visibly tensed up, watching their captains staring each other down. “We’re actually just looking around and saw our beloved 1st year. Kuguri? What are you doing there?”, Daishou asked and looked over to the couple. Kuguri, who had leaned against a wall, suddenly straightened up, slung his arms around Shibayama and placed his chin on his boyfriend’s head. Shibayama could feel his heartbeat against his back. “I’m spending time with my boyfriend. My soulmate”, Kuguri declared. His teammates looked stunned. “What?” “The shorty?” Daishou glared at Kuroo again. “You knew that?”, he hissed, making Kuroo let out his weird hyena laugh. “We heard of it like 5 minutes ago, so welcome to the club. Want a snack?”, the Nekoma captain kept laughing and went back to his own boyfriend and soulmate. “Proud of me Yakkun?”, he asked in a cutesy manner, that made his whole team roll their eyes. “Oh I’m so proud of you for acting civil and not being a disgrace for your younger teammates”, Yaku shot back sarcastically. Kuguri hugged Shibayama a little closer, while they watched the Nohebi team. The rival team whispered with each other for a moment, before coming over to the first years and introducing themselves. Inuoka, being his friendly self and eager to help Shibayama, quickly offered them snacks and engaged them in a conversation. _This was kind of easier than expected. Shibayama was glad they had opened up to their friends. Now it would be easier to be together._

“Today was tiring”, Kuguri sighed, plopping down onto his bed and closing his eyes. “But it was worth it, wasn’t it? Now they all know and they didn’t react badly, so we can just- just be open now”, Shibayama answered and smiled down at his boyfriend. _He felt so incredibly happy. They could date publicly and didn’t have to fear rejection from their friends and teammates any longer._ Kuguri opened one eye and examined his beaming soulmate. A lazy smile appeared on his face, before he stretched out his arms and dragged Shibayama down into his arms. “You promised me a nap”, he mumbled into his dark hair and closed his eyes again. “Good night”, Shibayama said quietly and quickly, before his courage could leave him, pressed a kiss to Kuguri’s lips. His eyes fluttered open again and looked up into the blushing face of the libero. Shibayama showed a bashful smile, before he laid his head on Kuguri’s chest and snuggled closer into his embrace. “I love you, Naoyasu”, he whispered and could hear Kuguri’s heart skip a beat under his ear. “I love you, too, Yuuki.”


	9. Nice to Meet You (Akaashi Keiji X Iwaizumi Hajime)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi is lying his way to Miyagi to meet his soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

It had already been weeks since Akaashi had heard the voice of his Soulmate for the first time. And he still hadn’t done anything about it. He hadn’t even told anyone, because he had been too shocked, too confused, too insecure. Bokuto had showed him a Video of the Miyagi qualifiers and had recited everything Asahi had told him, when Akaashi had heard him. The rivalling team of Karasuno, AOBA Johsai, had been on screen and their ace had shouted something to his teammates. Akaashi didn’t even remember what he had said, he just remembered his voice. How fascinating it had been hearing this voice outside his head, saying something else than his thoughts. Nevertheless, he didn’t dare to watch the video for a second time. He was confident that the boy he had heard was his soulmate, but he was afraid of missing him too much, despite not knowing him personally. Akaashi saw how much Bokuto missed Asahi and it was usually him who got his best friend out of his emo-mode whenever he felt lovesick again. In the end Akaashi still started to miss his soulmate and that was when he started his plan.

“Akaashi! It’s still about two months until the spring tournament, right? That’s way too long until I can see Asahi again! We can’t even spend Christmas or new year’s together”, Bokuto whined and leaned against his locker. Akaashi glanced over at his best friend, who was now staring at his cell phone. His lock screen was a picture of Asahi he took during the trainings camp in summer. _He wouldn’t get a better chance. He should propose his plan now._ Akaashi slammed his own locker shut, getting Bokuto’s attention back on him. “You’re right Bokuto-san. You haven’t seen each other in a while. What would you think about visiting Miyagi for a weekend?”, Akaashi suggested in a neutral voice. Bokuto’s jaw dropped. The setter tried to ignore his nearly comical surprise, grabbed his bags and left the room first. “Akaashi! Wait! What happened? Didn’t you say last time, that I couldn’t just travel to Miyagi whenever I wanted to?”, the ace asked sounding accusatory. “That’s right. But this time it’s not whenever you want, but for one weekend and it’s not just you alone, but the two of us. I think that sounds like a more reasonable plan, than what you had suggested the last times”, Akaashi answered, feeling his hands getting sweaty. _No, it wasn’t more reasonable at all! It was even more ridiculous, but now Akaashi could understand his best friend!_ He anxiously waited for an answer. “So you’re saying that you will come with me to Miyagi to visit Asahi”, Bokuto answered slowly, still confused. “I’ll even organize the whole thing and when we arrived I’ll go and sleep over at Kageyama’s place, so you can fully concentrate on your boyfriend”, Akaashi shot back and crossed his finger’s in the pockets of his jacket. “Okay, sure, I’m not going to stop you”, the captain finally said with a big grin on his face. _Finally!_ “But why are you going to visit Kageyama? Have you even spoken to him?”, Bokuto began question him again and Akaashi had to suppress a sigh. _Crap. Why could he not leave it be?_ “I have talked to him. And Kenma had told me that Hinata had told him, that Kageyama had told Hinata, that he wished to have spent more time with me, so I’ll grant him that”, the setter calmly explained, making his friend break out in laughter. “How generous of you, Akaashi”, he roared and this time Akaashi really let out a sigh.

The planning of the trip didn’t need time and their parents and team only needed minor convincing to let Akaashi and Bokuto travel to Miyagi for a weekend. Asahi naturally agreed to the plan and he seemed as excited as Bokuto, even though he was a lot quieter about it. To Akaashi’s relief Kageyama had agreed as well and he could sleep over at his place. He felt a little guilty, because even Kageyama was part of his plan to meet his soulmate.

Traveling from Tokyo to Miyagi needed quite some time, but the train ride was relaxing even though Bokuto was practically bouncing in his seat. Since Akaashi knew his best friend so well he could read, while Bokuto kept babbling, sighing, sleeping, snoring, giggling and sighing again. _Would Akaashi be as helpless when he met his soulmate face to face? One part of him hoped he’d be as in love as Bokuto and Asahi seemed to be, but another part was already embarrassed for himself and his future actions._

It was a pleasant surprise when not only Asahi and Kageyama picked them up from the train station, but also the other 3rd years and Hinata had come, too. “Bokuto-san! Akaashi-san!”, Hinata shouted and waved. Bokuto greeted him as excited, before he melted into Asahi’s arms. They kept hugging each other for an embarrassing long time. It was weird seeing Asahi so open with his affection and Bokuto this quiet. “Welcome in Miyagi, Akaashi-san”, Kageyama said overly polite, but it was the conversation starter the others needed to stop staring at the happily reunited couple. “Thank you for letting me sleep over”, Akaashi replied to the younger setter, who seemed to be excited. _As excited as Kageyama could be. Not like Akaashi knew him very well or had seen many emotions on his face, yet._ They chatted with Hinata, Sugawara and Daichi until Asahi and Bokuto let go of each other. He and the younger setter took the bus to Kageyama’s house and Akaashi was relieved that it was less awkward than he had feared. He was used to hold conversations mostly about volleyball, so it was no problem for him, that it was the main topic.

When Akaashi laid on his futon on Kageyama’s floor he felt panic crawling up his throat. _What was he doing here? He went to Miyagi for a weekend, in which he should probably be doing school work and volleyball training. He lied to Bokuto and used him and his boyfriend to go and try to find his own luck. Would he even find him? And wasn’t it kind of creepy to have someone form another prefecture hunting you down, because they believed they were your soulmate based on a few seconds from a sport news video? Maybe he should just keep lying, enjoy some time with his friends and go back to Tokyo._ “Is everything alright, Akaashi-san?”, Kageyama suddenly asked, successfully interrupting his anxious stream of thoughts. “What? Sure. I’m okay. Why?”, the older setter answered, looking over to Kageyama who peeked over the edge of his mattress. “Your breathing reminded me of Yachi when she’s getting stressed”, Kageyama explained, still staring down at his guest. _Now was the best- the only moment to be honest and ask for help. Maybe he could still go through with his original plan._ “You got me there. Actually- I lied to you all- I’m here to meet my soulmate and- I know I’m asking a lot, especially after disclosing that I was lying, but I hope you can help me with that.” After Akaashi’s confession it was quiet for a while, but it didn’t feel burdensome. _It just seemed like Kageyama needed some time to think about his words. Would he be willing to help Akaashi out?_ “Who is your soulmate? Is it someone from our team?”, the Karasuno setter finally asked and the older boy sat himself up, before he gave an answer. “No. It’s just someone from this area- You guys know the team from AOBA Johsai, right? Bokuto-san showed me videos Asahi-san sent him and- I heard his voice there”, Akaashi said and stopped when he saw Kageyama moving from the corners of his eyes. “We know them. I played with many of their players during my middle school days. Their setter is very skilled”, the younger boy stated quietly. Now it was Akaashi who was nervously moving his limbs. “I’m more interested in their ace, actually”, he admitted even more quietly than Kageyama before. “Iwaizumi-san?” _Was that his name?_ “If you say so, I don’t know anything about him”, the Fukurodani setter retorted and felt all warm and fuzzy inside when Kageyama began telling him all he knew about Iwaizumi. _The lovesickness already started. How bad would he be when he had finally met Iwaizumi? Would he make a fool out of himself?_

On the next day Bokuto and Akaashi joined Karasuno’s practice, before Kageyama would take his fellow setter to the AOBA Johsai school grounds to introduce him to Iwaizumi. Kageyama had promised to keep their plan a secret. Akaashi didn’t want his other friends to make a fuss about it. He was touched and relieved that Kageyama kept his promise.

“Do you know which one their gym is? Are you sure we won’t look suspicious running around here?”, Akaashi whispered, unable to control his nerves. Kageyama made a face like he wanted to reassure and calm him down, but before he could say anything a loud voice answered for him. “You look extremely suspicious, but I’m sure Tobio-chan still knows where our gym is, even though he shouldn’t. He just looks up to me so much, that he can’t go without seeing me too long, right? Tobio-chan?”, a tall, brown haired boy said in an annoying singsong voice. _That must be Oikawa._ Kageyama made a face that was sour and helpless at the same time, while Akaashi tried to calm his loud heartbeats. _If Oikawa was here his friend shouldn’t be too far away._ “So what do you want, Tobio-chan?”, Oikawa asked again, before a dark shadow fell onto the group. “Oi Shittykawa! Did you ran away again to make a fool of yourself?”, a short haired boy asked loudly and hit his friend upside head. _Iwaizumi had arrived._ “That’s so mean, Iwa-chan! I’m not making a fool out of myself, I’m talking to Tobio-chan, who came to meet me. He-”, Oikawa started to justify himself, but got interrupted by Kageyama. “I’m actually not here to talk to you, Oikawa-san”, the 1st year started to explain and Akaashi felt his heart drop into his pants. _He couldn’t say it now. He couldn’t imagine confessing now to Iwaizumi why he was here!_ “Leave him be”, Iwaizumi ordered his friend, before he turned to the two younger setters. “Why are you and your friend here?”, he wanted to know and when his eyes briefly met Akaashi’s, he decided that it was time to retract. “We were about to leave. We’re sorry for troubling you”, the Fukurodani player politely said, grabbed Kageyama’s arm and dragged him off his soulmate’s school grounds.

The rest of the Saturday was spent playing volleyball in Kageyama’s backyard and watching movies together. Kageyama had apologized a lot to Akaashi, who had assured him over and over again, that it hadn’t been his fault. _He should have come up with a better plan. He should have been more brave. At least he had seen him and heard his voice in real life now. He had a new memory he could hold onto._ Karasuno would have practice the next day again and the two setters had agreed on telling the others about their adventure then.

Iwaizumi was still thinking about his encounter with Kageyama and his friend the day before. _Something had been weird. Why had they come to their school? And who was the other boy? Iwaizumi was sure he hadn’t met or seen him before, but he had somehow felt familiar. He couldn’t pinpoint why, though._ “Iwa-chan~ What are you thinking about again? You look so constipated”, Oikawa chirped into his ear, making his friend flinch and punch him in the shoulder. He felt his ears burning, but before Iwaizumi could say anything, something had caught Oikawa’s attention again. “Oh look! Isn’t that Mr. Refreshing and the pretty boy from yesterday?” Iwaizumi’s head snapped over to the door to see Sugawara and Kageyama’s friend walk in. Sugawara showed his usual friendly and excited smile, while the other boy seemed very nervous. _He really was pretty. Not like Oikawa was pretty, but a pretty, that made Iwaizumi feel nervous. He felt like he couldn’t take his off of him._ “Hi there, I heard Kageyama failed to introduce you all yesterday. This is Akaashi Keiji, a setter from Tokyo”, Sugawara happily announced and stopped right in front of the two best friends. _Akaashi Keiji? A pleasant name for pleasant face. Iwaizumi didn’t know if he was a pleasant person, yet, though._ “Nice to meet you, Keiji-chan. My name is Oikawa Tooru and this brute next to me is Iwaizumi Hajime”, Oikawa introduced him and his best friend, before he turned back to Sugawara. “And what brings you two here, Suga-chan?” The two 3rd year setters exchanged smiles, but their eyes were twinkling with mischief. Iwaizumi didn’t really know what he should make of this situation, but he didn’t have to wonder for a long time, because the boy from Tokyo drew his attention on him. _He seemed very nervous._ Fiddling with his fingers, he kept his gaze on the ground. _He had pretty hands, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Iwaizumi had noticed that most setters had pretty hands. Or at least what he deemed attractive in hands._ When Akaashi suddenly lifted his head, Iwaizumi tried to send him a reassuring smile. Surprised, he noticed that the dark haired setter blushed. Akaashi opened his mouth and as soon as he had started talking, it hit Iwaizumi what this was all about. “I actually came to Miyagi to meet my soulmate. I’m aware that this might be a little creepy of me, but I heard your voice in a video, Iwaizumi-san. And I’m sure that you are my soulmate”, he explained his presence. _This voice. He was right. He really was his soulmate!_ Iwaizumi was mute for a while. He didn’t know how to react. “Oh? Really? Interesting, Keiji-chan”, Oikawa retorted in a daunting manner, but Akaashi didn’t back away. He shot the older setter a quick gaze, bevor he looked back over to his soulmate. “I- uh- Nice to meet you. Akaashi Keiji…”, Iwaizumi finally stuttered and felt his face heat up. “Nice to meet you, Iwaizumi-san”, Akaashi returned the greeting and Iwaizumi felt his stomach tingle. _Hearing his voice out loud was fascinating. It was even more beautiful than in his head._ “I guess you two would like to get to know each other, but we still have some more hours to go and I, as the captain-”, Oikawa started with an evil smirk, but got interrupted by Matsukawa. “Don’t be a party-pooper, Shittykawa. I, as the vice-captain command Iwaizumi to go and get together with his soulmate! Iwaizumi always has to endure you, don’t try to destroy his luck”, Matsukawa said, slung an arm around his friend’s shoulder and looked Akaashi up and down, before smirking at Iwaizumi. “And you seem to be really lucky, you bastard.” “Stop that”, Iwaizumi growled and made a movement as if he wanted to shield Akaashi from his friends. However, the other AOBA Johsai boys weren’t staring at them anymore. “You’re not vice-captain, anymore, Mattsun!”, Oikawa reminded him, but frowned upon seeing his friend’s smile. “And you’re not captain anymore. Yahaba might do what you want, but he does listen to his vice-captain, Kyotani, who would do anything for Iwaizumi and everything to see you suffer”, Matsukawa grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

Whilst Sugawara watched Oikawa argue with Matsukawa, Iwaizumi and Akaashi quietly left the gym. They walked away in silence and sat down on a bench next to the gym. “I- I’m sorry, I’m probably really sweaty and disgusting- I-”, Iwaizumi stuttered and the small smile that showed on Akaashi’s lips knocked the air out of his lungs. _How was this reality? He knew nothing about this beautiful boy, but he already felt the need to never let him go. He was breath taking and Iwaizumi suddenly felt small and ugly._ “Don’t worry about it, Iwaizumi-san. I play volleyball myself and know how someone smells after an intense training. N-not that you smell bad! I- I’m sorry”, Akaashi answered hastily and now it was Iwaizumi who tried to calm him down. “I- How- Wait- First of all, let’s exchange numbers and maybe you can explain afterwards how you found me here”, the 3rd year suggested and Akaashi happily complied.

Iwaizumi and Akaashi spend the rest of the Sunday together, until Sugawara took the boy from Tokyo back to Kageyama’s home to get his stuff. Despite feeling really awkward Iwaizumi accompanied him to the train station and briefly met Bokuto, who had inspected him extensively. Now Akaashi really understood his best friend. As soon as the train started rolling he already missed Iwaizumi’s presence. He missed his deep voice, his dark eyes and spiky hair. He missed the way he looked at him and he missed looking at him. But what gave him hope was something Iwaizumi had said to him. “You know I’ll soon be done with high school. I wasn’t really sure yet where to go and what to do, but I guess I could find something in Tokyo- I mean if you’d like to have me there…” _He’d love to have him near. Despite losing most of his friends after the 3 rd years would graduate, but he still couldn’t wait for the school year to be over._


	10. Cold Hands, Warm Tea (Tendou Satori X Matsukawa Issei)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matsukawa had accidentally hurt his soulmate some time ago and is now trying to make up for it.
> 
> (One inspiration for this chapter is the one sketch where Tendou and Matsukawa are interacting: https://honyakukanomangen.tumblr.com/post/168362638783/cover-and-extras-from-haikyuu-vol-29-2nd-image (6th image))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

Matsukawa leaned on the wall, spinning his water bottle in his fingers, watching his team. The 3rd years officially weren’t in the team anymore, but they still joined practice from time to time. His eyes laid on Oikawa and Iwaizumi, who were bickering. _Everything was as usual. Except that Iwaizumi turned out to be quite sappy._ Even though he was trying to keep his relationship and soulmate on the down low, his cheesy smile whenever he opened his phone to a new text message from Tokyo told his friends everything they needed to know. _If he had reacted differently, if he had just give himself a second to think, before answering, Matsukawa might have something similar. Would it have been as sweet? Could it still be that?_ “What’s with that face, Mattsun?”, Hanamaki interrupted his thoughts and his face didn’t really give away if he was worried or made fun of his best friend. _Probably both._ “Nothing in particular”, Matsukawa half-heartedly avoided the question. “Don’t lie to me. Buy me a cream puff after practice and pour out your teeny tiny heart to me”, Hanamaki shot back and left his friend alone again.

“Thanks! Now that I got a snack, my ears are all open. You can even cry if you want”, Hanamaki declared and bit into his cream puff with nearly scandalous pleasure. “I don’t need to cry”, Matsukawa mumbled and watched his friend eating. Their eyes met for a brief second, which was enough for the dark haired boy to give in and tell his friend what was distressing him. “I- Actually it’s about soulmates”, he started, but the pink haired boy interrupted him immediately. “Are you jealous of Iwaizumi’s romance? Would you leave your hometown for your soulmate? I keep thinking about that, but in their case it’s the only chance to be close, if they don’t want to wait for another whole year”, Hanamaki thought out loud and licked some crumbs from his lips. “I don’t need to leave”, Matsukawa quietly admitted, his eyes locked onto his own hands. Out of the corners of his eyes he could still see Hanamaki slowly lowering his hands with the packaging of his now gone cream puff. “Wha- You know your soulmate? Why did you never say anything?”, Hanamaki looked genuinely hurt. Matsukawa cleared his throat in a weak attempt to reduce his nervousness. _How should he explain. Where should he start?_ “I- He approached me, but I was too dumb to understand…”, he sighed and watched his friend throw away the wrapping paper. “When?” “I could have known since spring, but I realized it during the Interhigh qualifications…” Hanamaki stood in front of him with his hands on his hips and stared down at his secretive friend. “That’s quite some time, my good friend. And only now you think about talking about it?”, he questioned and Matsukawa rose with a sigh. The two friends started making their way home. “I need some time to think about it myself first. It’s a little complicated”, he muttered and made Hanamaki let out a chuckle. “Why? Is it Ushiwaka”, he snickered and his best friend’s face made him stop in his tracks. “It is Ushiwaka?”, he whispered in disbelief and Matsukawa quickly waved his hands to stop him. “No! It’s not Ushiwaka, but-“ _He couldn’t keep talking. He couldn’t say it out loud._ “But?”, Hanamaki urged him. Matsukawa looked up into the dark sky and whispered: “But it’s Tendou Satori.” _Now it was out. The first time he said it out loud. It didn’t feel as horrifying as he had thought._ “Oh. Oh, I- Uh- Congratulations?”, Hanamaki stumbled over his words. Matsukawa let out a loud laugh, which made his friend flinch, before he let out an unsure giggle himself. “I’d appreciate it if you could keep that a secret. I don’t want Oikawa sticking his nose into my business as well”, the dark haired boy asked and finally dared to look over at his friend. Hanamaki grinned and held up his pinkie. “Sure thing. I’ll probably ask you to return the favour whenever I meet my soulmate. But more importantly- What exactly happened and what will you do now? Or do you don’t want him?”, the pink haired boy asked, sounding worried again. “It’s not that I don’t want him! But I hurt him and I don’t know how to make it up- I don’t even know if we’d work out well! We just all assume that we do with our soulmates, but I don’t know anything about him! What if we’re not like Iwaizumi and Akaashi?!” Slowly but surely Matsukawa’s desperation came to the surface.

Tendou let out a sigh. He was laying in his bed, with his arms crossed behind his head and stared at the mattress above him in the bunk bed. _He was glad he had a room for himself. It would have been tiring to share a room with someone who’d probably despite him. Most did after all. Even his soulmate…_

It had been shortly after the new school year had started. Tendou had known who his soulmate was since their last game against AOBA Johsai, but he had no idea how to approach him. Matsukawa Issei. They were rivals after all. Direct rivals even, since they were both middle blocker. He had been wandering around town on a weekend. A little bored, since the new JUMP wasn’t out yet. A voice he knew all too well had caught his attention. “Then go home and don’t really get sick! We can’t risk not having you on the team!”, the deep voice had scolded his friend and Tendou had watched the pink haired boy entering a bus and driving away. He had slowly approached the dark haired boy, who had watched his friend leave while shaking his head. “What a baby”, he had sighed and something in Tendou had decided to bravely do the first step. “You called?”, Tendou chirped and Matsukawa flinched slightly before turning to the redhead. Matsukawa had stared at him for a while, before he answered: “You were just imagining things.” He showed a defensive attitude, but Tendou didn’t want to cave in, yet. “Oh? What a coincidence, Matsukawa-kun. Want to go have tea?”, he asked another question in a cheerful voice, trying not to show how nervous he was. Matsukawa had knitted his eyebrow’s together and sent him another glare. “No!” And with that he had turned away and left Tendou embarrassed and hurt at the bus station.

They had met again before their match against AOBA Johsai in the finals of the Interhigh qualifiers. Tendou had been wandering around and by chance bumped into his soulmate. And they had been alone. With sweaty hands and his face slowly heating up, Tendou had tried to keep up his casual and playful facade. “Fancy seeing you here”, he had greeted Matsukawa, who had glared at him again. “It’s not really a coincidence at this place”, he had growled back. “I have to give you that. Well, if you play well, we’ll see each other later”, Tendou had shot back sounding a lot less teasing, nearly sad and tired. He had squeezed past the other middle blocker and made his way back to his team. He couldn’t see the mix of thoughts and emotions running over Matsukawa’s face.

Tendou forcefully emerged from his memories and sat up in his bed. _In all honesty, what had he expected. He was a demon after all. A monster. Not even a possible pet, because he didn’t look lovable._ With another sigh he stood up and made his way over to Ushiwaka’s room to get his JUMP back. _Reading was always a great way to distract himself. Finger’s crossed no character had prominent eyebrows and a lazy smirk._

In December an unexpected chance to casually walk into Shiratorizawa appeared in front of Matsukawa. And Hanamaki. Because he when it came to interfering in the problems of others, he was in no way inferior to Oikawa. “The trainingscamp is your chance! We just go and watch our cute little kouhai! I bet the Shiratorizawa 3rd years will be watching them, too!” Hanamaki had been way too excited, but Matsukawa had to agree with him.

Now the two AOBA Johsai 3rd years entered the Shiratorizawa school grounds. “Now that I’m actually here, I have to admit I feel weird, being here”, Hanamaki admitted and Matsukawa let out a loud snorting noise. _No shit Sherlock! How could have anything about this plan not be weird and uncomfortable?_

They needed a while to find the right gym, but were able to sneak onto the small balcony on the second floor of the building. “Look! There are Kindaichi and Kunimi”, Hanamaki whispered, watching his underclassmen. Matsukawa grunted as a sign he understood and saw them, too, but quickly let his gaze run through the gym. _He wasn’t there. This had been a ridiculous plan, anyway. Why was he even here?_ “Eh? Matsukawa-san and Hanamaki-san? What are you doing here?”, a loud voice emerged behind them. The two 3rd years spun around looking at the short number 10 from Karasuno. “We’re here to watch our kouhai”, Hanamaki quickly answered, elbowing Matsukawa to make him look less like a deer in headlights. Before anyone could say something more the trainer of Shiratorizawa was already screaming at Hinata to not waste time and play around. After he noticed the guest he loudly asked them what they were doing here. The trainer didn’t really believe that they wanted to watch their teammates, but let them stay for the time of the trainings match against the Shiratorizawa 3rd years and alumni’s. They just got forced to do the point counting.

Matsukawa felt his throat go dry when he watched the opposing player’s enter the gym. Tendou cheerfully chatted with Ushiwaka, until he locked eyes with his soulmate and fell completely silent. _Was there something he could save? Was there anything he could do to make up to him?_ Matsukawa wasn’t able to say anything and let Hanamaki explain their presence to Semi and Ohira. Tendou kept avoiding his eyes and stood as far from him as possible. Matsukawa was still not able to get any words out.

Nothing changed this situation for the whole match and Matsukawa would probably had run away without trying to approach his soulmate if Hanamaki wouldn’t have beat him to it. “I’ll see you later, but if you leave without trying to sort things out with him, you’ll have to buy me creampuffs for the rest of our lives! Don’t you dare to run away!”, he had threatened and left Matsukawa in the corridor of the Shiratorizawa gym. _Hanamaki was a good friend. He meant well, but how on earth was Matsukawa supposed to talk to Tendou right now?! What-_ “Oho? You’re still here? Lost your way on our school grounds?”, Tendou’s fake-cheerful voice appeared next to him. It was clear how defensive he was and Matsukawa was impressed that he still had come up to talk to him. _His soulmate wasn’t a coward like himself._ “I’m sorry”, Matsukawa blurted out and Tendou waved his hands dismissively. “For not having a sense of direction? Nobody is perfect”, the redhead retorted and seemed unsure if he should stay or leave. “I didn’t mean that”, Matsukawa chuckled, before turning serious again. He looked into Tendou’s face and their eyes locked for the first time. “I’m sorry for not understanding why you approached me. The dumbass I am, I thought you wanted to pick a fight and I only realized what was going on during the Interhigh qualifiers…”, the dark haired middle blocker explained calmly, his gaze still on his soulmate’s face. Tendou showed another fake-friendly smile. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. I can’t imagine your disappointment when you realized our situation”, he said, still desperately trying to sound cheerful, but the longer the two looked at each other the more his usual mask started to crumble. “I wasn’t disappointed, I-”, Matsukawa tried to justify himself, but Tendou interrupted him. _Finally, he showed his real emotion. Those Matsukawa deserved._ “Don’t lie to me, Matsukawa-san! I know how people think and talk about me! You know nothing about me, so don’t try to tell me that you’re any different!”, Tendou hissed, the hurt visible in his eyes and Matsukawa felt his heart breaking. “You- I was confused and we used to be rivals, so I was very wary of you, but I don’t hate you! And I’m not disappointed. If you let me, I’d like to get to know you and I’d love it if you would call me Matsukawa-kun, again. Or Issei. If you want. If you feel like having a cup of tea, call me. I really want to apologize and make it up to you”, Matsukawa said and held out a piece of paper, that Hanamaki had prepared. Tendou froze for a few seconds, before he cautiously took his soulmate’s number. “I don’t trust you”, he admitted and Matsukawa showed a sad smile. “I know and I can’t blame you. It was my fault.”

A few days before Christmas Matsukawa finally got a carefully worded text message. Tendou asked him to meet up for some tea. Matsukawa immediately agreed and arrived early at the small tea house café Tendou had suggested.

“Hello?”, Tendou greeted his soulmate with a soft voice. He was clearly nervous and Matsukawa could see his hands trembling. “Hi. Thank you for reaching out”, the dark haired boy said and showed a small smile. The silence between them was painfully awkward. It only got better when their tea and chocolate snacks arrived. “You like chocolate?”, Matsukawa asked, desperately trying to start a conversation. “I do. These are really tasty”, Tendou answered and he seemed to slowly begin to relax. He reached out to point at his recommendation, when Matsukawa moved his hand to offer him some. Their hands briefly touched and Tendou flinched and quickly retracted his hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”, Matsukawa whispered, not really knowing what he wanted to say and put the plate back down on the table. He watched Tendou looking down into his tea, with red ears and his hands firmly holding his cup. “Are you cold?”, Matsukawa asked, looking at his soulmate’s fingers. _He was still trembling. How difficult must it have been for him to reach out to him again, after Matsukawa had hurt him?_ “You mean my finger’s? My hands are always cold… My blood circulation is kinda bad”, Tendou admitted looking down at his own hands, before shyly gazing at Matsukawa. “Is that why you like tea?”, he asked and Tendou nodded before taking a sip from his drink. “My hands are always warm. My friends, especially Hanamaki, have tried to get me into baking”, the dark haired boy chuckled. “If you need a personal heater”, he mumbled and watched Tendou’s face heating up with a mischievous smile. “Weren’t you supposed to apologize and make it up to me?”, he grumbled and Matsukawa let out a laugh, that let Tendou’s face nearly got as red as his hair. “You’re right. Tell me what you want”, Matsukawa shot back, leaning a little forward in his chair. Tendou averted his gaze and quickly changed to another topic. But the ice was broken, when they left the café to walk over to the mall, he even asked Matsukawa to prove his usefulness as a glove-replacement.


	11. One Night (Miya Osamu X Yamaguchi Tadashi)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the spring tournament Osamu hears his soulmate and Yamaguchi is surprised and nervous, but pleased.
> 
> [I tried to give the Miya Twins an accent, but I'm not sure if it makes sense^^° I hope it's still possible to read]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

Osamu was wandering aimlessly through the corridors of the gym in Tokyo were the spring tournament was held. Most of the others had stayed with their bags and Atsumu and Aran went off somewhere looking at other teams. For a while the grey haired twin had looked at the shirts that were sold, but they didn’t really catch his eyes. _He wasn’t here for the memories anyway._ As soon as he decided to head back to the other’s and annoy a sleepy Suna, he heard a voice. A familiar voice. A voice he heard all the time, but had never heard out loud before. “Do you have to pick fights with everyone everywhere you go? Let’s go back, Hinata!”, his soulmate said and Osamu watched a tall dark haired boy and a small orange haired boy leave in the opposite direction. _Now the question was who of the two had spoken. Who of them was his soulmate? Where they players or here to cheer someone on?_ It took him a while to snap back into reality and take his leave as well. _He should keep his eyes open and find out who his soulmate was._

“Hey, Suna! Will ya wake up? I wanna tell ya something”, Osamu announced, shaking his friend awake, who glared at him. “What’s the matter, Samu?”, his twin brother asked, holding Suna up, so that he wouldn’t slouch back and fall asleep again. “Found my soulmate”, Osamu said and suddenly Suna was wide awake and Atsumu really quite. The three stared at each other. “Where? When? Who?”, the blond twin started to talk again, but Osamu held up a hand to stop him. “I was just wanderin’ around and then I heard him. There are two possibilities who it is- I hope I can find them again to find out which one he is’”, he said and then described what exactly happened and what he heard to his brother and their friend. They made a plan to watch their opponents closely and hopefully find the two boys of which one was Osamu’s soulmate. However, on the first day they didn’t find them.

On the morning of the second day of the competition they didn’t have a lot of time to search for Osamu’s soulmate, since today they had their first match. They would be playing against Karasuno and they told themselves that they would keep searching after they had won their first game. However, Osamu didn’t have to wait too long.

As soon as he let his gaze wander over their opponents he punched his brother in the shoulder. “Cut the crap, Samu! What ya want?”, Atsumu snapped at him. “There’s my soulmate”, his brother calmly shot back, not turning his eyes away from the other side of the hall. “Really? Which one is it?”, his brother suddenly sounded excited and was now watching the Karasuno team closely himself. “How is he supposed to hear them from here, Tsumu? Get yourself together!”, Suna hissed from behind them. “There is the redhead and which one is the tall one you saw?”, he asked. “The number 12 I think. Must be him- They’re talkin’ now, too”, Osamu answered. He did saw the smaller boy, too and his brother seemed to find him interesting, but his eyes naturally came back to the taller player. _He seemed nervous. It was kind of cute how he kept running back and forth between the tall blond boy and the small blond manager._

During the match Osamu fully concentrated on the game, but he still had to notice how adorably nervous the number 12 was when he was switched in as a pinch server. Although he did a great job. It was still a shock to Inarizaki, when they ended up losing to Karasuno. They placed second in the Interhigh tournament last year and now lost their first and only game. _They were out after one match. True, they weren’t here for the memories, but they didn’t had time to make some, anyway._ Osamu nearly felt relieved he could concentrate on his soulmate, so he didn’t have to think about their lost match. He decided that he wanted to talk the tall number 12 first.

After a quick talk with the team and Kita’s comment for the reporters, Osamu was able to sneak away over to the Karasuno team. Suna and Atsumu quickly followed him as soon as they noticed him walking away. “Oh? Atsumu-san, what’s the matter”, Kageyama approached the Inarizaki players. Next to him stood the small redhead. “Which one of them is Atsumu?”, he quietly asked. Osamu smirked. _That clearly wasn’t his soulmate._ He let his brother behind to sort out the confusion of the two Karasuno players and strolled over to the number 12. He stood next to another tall boy, with glasses and short blond hair. “Hey. Congratulations to yer win. I’m Miya Osamu. Would ya tell my yer name?”, Osamu asked and leaned his shoulder against the wall next to his soulmate. His hands were buried in the pockets of his pants. The younger twin didn’t even have to look over to Atsumu and Suna to know that they were snickering about him, trying to be cool and suave. _But who cared about them, this was his chance to charm his soulmate. He still had to answer, though._ “Th-thank you. I-I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi”, the slightly shorter boy stuttered and Osamu felt his whole body heat up, when he heard the confirmation that Yamaguchi Tadashi was his soulmate. “Tadashi-kun”, Osamu repeated the name with a smile and was pleased to see him blush. “Yer serves were really good, no wonder yer a pinch-server”, he complimented him and enjoyed seeing his soulmate get even more shy. “Mind telling us what you want?”, the blond Karasuno player suddenly asked, openly hostile. Osamu shortly smiled at him, before putting his full attention back on Yamaguchi. “Tadashi-kun, I don’t wanna scare ya, but it’s not like we have too much time, so I’ll be honest and straightforward with ya. I think yer my soulmate. Would ya mind exchanging numbers?”, the grey haired twin asked and couldn’t fully hide the hopefulness in his voice. Osamu could feel the glare from Yamaguchi’s friend on his face, but his eyes were fixed on his soulmate. “Really? Oh- I- Sure”, he stammered and held his phone in his shaking hands. Before anyone could advise him otherwise, Osamu snatched the phone from Yamaguchi’s hands and typed in his contact information. “If it’d be okay with ya, let’s meet up tonight and get to know each other a little, ‘cause we’ll have to leave tomorrow. I’ll wait for yer message”, the Inarizaki player quickly suggested, before giving back the cell phone and turning away to leave. “Let’s go”, he said to his brother and their friend, who smirked at him. _Now he could only wait and hope that Yamaguchi would contact him._

Yamaguchi stared at the corner where his soulmate and the other two boys disappeared until Tsukishima called for his attention. “Is he really your soulmate?”, Tsukishima asked and Yamaguchi slowly looked up at him. He felt his cheeks burning. “I think so”, he quietly admitted. _Miya Osamu really seemed to be his soulmate._ “Are you going to call him?”, his friend asked and Yamaguchi gazed down at his phone. _Miya Osamu. He was tall, handsome and despite coming off a little pushy, he was quite charming. Was this Yamaguchi’s time to find his luck?_ “I guess”, he mumbled, put his phone back into his pocket and squeezed past his teammates to help Yachi and Kiyoko pack up the teams’ things.

Back at the inn Yamaguchi kept staring at his phone. _Should he contact him? What would he be expecting from Yamaguchi? Did Osamu really wanted to meet him? It wasn’t like he could offer him anything. Osamu was a star. He looked like a model. He had loads of girls and boys standing in line, waiting for his attention. What was Yamaguchi? A little tall? A little nice?_ Yamaguchi let out a deep sigh and noticed his teammates shooting him worried gazes. He felt his ears burning and put his attention back on his phone. _Why shouldn’t he be brave for once? Didn’t he feel jealous and lonely, because Tsukki had met Inuoka? That they were boyfriends already? Didn’t he dream of meeting his soulmate, too? Wasn’t he desperate to get a boyfriend, as well? He should just pull himself together and contact him!_ With grim determination he grabbed his phone and opened a new chat with his soulmate. ‘Hi Osamu-san, do you still want to meet up? I’m not allowed out too late, but maybe we can still see each other?’ Without thinking about it too much Yamaguchi sent the message and followed it up with the address of the inn.

Osamu was ecstatic when he got Yamaguchi’s message and immediately answered that he was on his way. After a quick notice to Kita, that he would be out and coming back later tonight, he was already on his way to meet his soulmate _. He was excited to meet him and get to know him better. He seemed shy, which was really cute._ _Osamu didn’t want to rush Yamaguchi or pressure him into anything, but he already felt himself rushing through the get-to-know-each-other-phase. He wanted to touch him. Hold him. Kiss him._ “H-Hi, Osa- Miya-san”, a shaky voice greeted him and Osamu felt a smile spread over his lips. “Hi, Tadashi-kun. We’re soulmates, call me Osamu-kun or just Samu”, he said and noticed that Yamaguchi was blushing again. _He was really cute._ “Come- I saw a bench over there, maybe we can sit down. If you want!”, Yamaguchi suggested, still obviously nervous. “Sure, go ahead, I’ll follow ya”, Osamu was still smiling and felt like an idiot. _A lovesick idiot. He’d follow him anywhere._ They went a few steps around the inn and sat down on an old, a little frail looking, bench. Yamaguchi sat down first and Osamu plopped down next to him. “Congrats to yer win again”, he congratulated his soulmate and Yamaguchi felt embarrassed again. “Th-thank you, Mi- Osamu-kun”, he whispered and Osamu felt really content. He leaned back and examined his soulmate’s face. _He really wanted to kiss him. To hold him. To touch him._ “So- We’re soulmates, huh? And like- We only got this night to get to know each other, before we have to go back… Are ya a first year?”, Osamu tried to start a casual conversation. He felt relief wash over him, when he noticed Yamaguchi getting a little more relaxed.

They talked for a while. Telling each other some basic information and stuff about their life, before falling into silence again. It was a little awkward. They had subconsciously leaned closer to each other. Yamaguchi could feel Osamu’s gaze on him and he didn’t dare to look over and meet his eyes. _Until now it went quite well, but what should he do or say now? He felt flattered that Osamu seemed to be honestly interested in him and Yamaguchi really liked him. He was already fantasizing about reaching out a little and hold his hand. Touching him. Maybe even kissing him? But Yamaguchi wasn’t brave enough. He couldn’t-_ “Tadashi?”, Osamu’s low voice suddenly asked and Yamaguchi turned his head. His eyes widened when he noticed that his soulmate was way closer than he had expected him to be. He saw Osamu’s eyes flickering to his lips. _Maybe Yamaguchi wasn’t alone with his desires._ “This might be really straightforward, again, but- Can I kiss ya, Tadashi?”, Osamu asked and Yamaguchi’s heart skipped a beat. _He really wanted to. But what if he wasn’t good at it? He had never kissed someone before after all! Had Osamu? Would he be disappointed?_ “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t wanna pressure ya, but- I’m sorry”, the grey haired boy quickly backtracked and even moved a little further from Yamaguchi on the bench. “No!”, the 1st year interrupted his soulmate way too loud and surprised himself. “I- I mean- I- If you’d like to”, Yamaguchi stuttered and reached out his hands to his soulmate, but halted his moves before he really touched him. “Only if ya want to, I really didn’t mean to pressure you”, Osamu assured him and grabbed his hands into his. The sudden touch made Yamaguchi feel the heat in his face and ears again. “No, really. I- I want to, but I’m not confident at all”, the younger boy admitted and squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry about that”, Osamu whispered and leaned closer to his soulmate again. Yamaguchi felt like fainting, when Osamu’s lips pressed to his and he firmly shut his eyes. Osamu moved his hands to Yamaguchi’s cheek and neck and Yamaguchi’s hands gripped his soulmate’s shirt.

As they slowly separated, Yamaguchi’s thoughts began to race. _This felt good. This felt right. But did Osamu felt the same?_ “Tadashi?”, Osamu’s deep and soothing voice interrupted his up building anxiety. Yamaguchi just stared at his soulmate, unable to form an answer. “Stop worryin’ so much. I’m really happy with ya and if ya feel good about us, too, I’m on cloud nine”, he whispered and Yamaguchi felt a little relieved. _He wouldn’t lie about that, right?_ “I really like ya, Tadashi and I know we’ve only met today and live quite far away, but I’d still want to ask ya, if ya want to be my boyfriend”, Osamu asked, after Yamaguchi had reassuringly smiled at him. “I- I’d actually like that”, he answered and stared into his soulmate’s eyes. “Great. I’ll try to see ya tomorrow before we leave. Maybe we can stay long enough to see ya play”, the 2nd year said and caressed Yamaguchi’s cheek. _This was what he dreamed of. And it felt even better. He felt really happy with his soulmate._


	12. Waited long enough (Suna Rintarou X Miya Atsumu)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suna accidentally confesses that he has known about his soulmate for years. Atsumu needs some time to sort out his confusion and finally get together with him.
> 
> !In this chapter sexual desires etc. are mentioned or at least hinted, they do play a role but there is no actual sexual content, just kissing!  
> [I hope the accent I gave the twins makes at least a little sense><°]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU soulmates can identify each other through their “inner voice”. A person’s inner voice is the voice of their soulmates and might use similar vocabulary or catch phrases, but does not necessarily has their personality (since one’s inner voice is still one’s own thoughts, feelings and mental issues).

Suna, Atsumu and Osamu all let out a deep sigh. Osamu a dreamy, but slightly sad one. Atsumu an annoyed one. And Suna a tired one. They were at the twin’s house, relaxing after an exhausting school day and volleyball training. At least they tried to. The lower bunk bed was mostly occupied by its owner Osamu, who kept texting back and forth with his newly met soulmate and boyfriend Yamaguchi. Suna was sitting next to his best friends’ feet and Atsumu was sprawled out on the carpet. “We get it, ya miss yer cute lil’ boyfriend, but how about spendin’ some energy on yer friends and yer favourite brother”, the blond twin complained, prompting the other two to look up from their phones. “Suna’s playin’ anyway and why should I spend energy on ya?”, his brother shot back. They started to bicker as usual and Suna went back to playing on his phone. The words went in one ear and out of the other, but one comment made him prick up his ears. “Man! I wish I knew who my soulmate is! Seein’ ya bein’ all lovey-dovey- Not that I wanna be as cheesy- but it looks fun”, Atsumu rambled, crossing his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Both Osamu and Suna looked down at him. Suna’s thoughts were racing and Osamu was biting back a laugh. “Jealous, huh? But who’d even want ya?”, he teased his twin, who immediately got angry, jumped onto him and made him drop his phone onto his face. Their friend quickly climbed off the bed and took Atsumu’s spot on the floor. _There was no use in trying to stop or break the fight of the twins. Sometimes they really got on his nerves!_

“What about ya, Suna? Did ya ever had an idea who the voice in ya head is?”, Atsumu suddenly wanted to know and Suna looked up to see that the twins had stopped fighting. They sat next to each other on the bed almost peacefully. “Sure”, he answered, before he lowered his gaze back to his phone. “Really?”, both twins were suddenly straightening up and staring down at him. _So nosy._ “Why are you acting like you’re caring?”, Suna tried to sound as sarcastic as possible, but it didn’t make his friends lose any interest in this newfound information. “We do!” “Why did ya never say anything?” The tallest of the bunch let out a fake sigh and put his phone away. He looked over to the twins, who subconsciously leaned closer in his direction. “I’m not going to run after them like a lost puppy. They still got time to figure it out themselves”, Suna smirked. Osamu laughed, but Atsumu knit his eyebrow’s together. “That’s kinda mean of ya”, the younger, grey haired twin, giggled, before his phone called for his attention again. “Only a little. I can wait you know”, Suna mumbled and only glanced over at Atsumu’s distorted face shortly. _He better didn’t hurt his brain trying to think about something other than volleyball._ “But don’t ya wanna spend some time with them?”, the blond twin wanted to know after rolling his eyes at his brother, who was, once again, texting with Yamaguchi. “Already do”, the middle blocker said with a smile tucking at the corners of his lips. This statement even got Osamu’s attention on him again. _This was his sign to leave. He shouldn’t give them any more hints to guess and gossip about._ Suna stood up from the floor and both twins followed his action, which resulted in both of them banging their heads at the top bunk of the bed. _These clowns._ “Don’t ya wanna talk about it?”, Osamu groaned holding his head and pushing Atsumu back on the bed. “No.” “But maybe we could help ya!”, the blond twin shouted and tried to hit his brother, who quickly got out of the way. Suna let out an amused snort and locked eyes with Atsumu. _Maybe if he’d think and listen to his own thoughts more, he’d be helpful and figure it all out._ “But really- Who is it? I told ya two immediately when I found out about Tadashi”, Osamu whined and grabbed the door to hinder his friend from leaving. _He didn’t want to help him. To tell him. But maybe it was the time to give some hints now. In all honesty Suna got a little tired of waiting lately._ “We’re spending nearly every day together. Try to figure it out soon, will you?”, he stated with a playful glimmer in his eyes, pulled the door open and was gone, before any of the brothers had digested his words.

_Shit. Had he been too honest?_ Suna was in deep thoughts on his way home and tried to ignore the twins blowing up his phone with notifications. He only dared to look into his messages when he was already in bed. A horrified laugh escaped his lips, when he scrolled through the chatroom he had with the twins. They were screaming and key smashing and demanding him to tell the truth, to not joke around. _As if he would joke around about that. As if he was one of Atsumu’s fangirls. As if Atsumu wouldn’t be able to confirm everything, as soon as he finally listened to his own thoughts!_ Suna sent a quick good night messages, muted his notifications and went to sleep.

Atsumu spent his night mostly awake. He kept tossing and turning and thinking about what Suna had implied. _Were they really soulmate’s?_ Osamu had urged him the whole evening about it. He had laughed at his brother for not knowing if the voice of his thoughts was his best friend or not. _But Atsumu wasn’t sure. And what would that mean despite him being dumb? Why had Suna never said something? Had he needed two years to accept that the universe paired him with Atsumu? Had he been that disappointed? Was he still disappointed? Was Atsumu disappointed?_

The next morning Atsumu was still a little out of it. He overheard his alarm and then got into a fight with his brother when he tried to put on Osamu’s jacket. They arrived late to practice and were the last ones to enter the gym. Suna was already there and greeted them as usual. “You’re even later than I am. Shouldn’t you be a better example for your team, captain?”, he teased Atsumu, before he continued running his rounds. Osamu followed him quickly, but his brother could still hear his obnoxious giggling. _Was that it? This was nothing different from their everyday banters. Shouldn’t something have changed? Now that Suna basically confessed that he was waiting for Atsumu, his soulmate, to hurry up and realize they were meant to be. Or had the twins misunderstood their friend?_ “Will ya start runnin’ or do we have to drag ya along?” “I’m runnin’! Shut yer trap, Samu!”

After morning training everything was the usual, as well, which made Atsumu even more anxious. In the locker room Osamu and Suna were chatting, as usual. On their way to their classrooms Suna looked like he was sleepwalking, as usual. The only sign that something had happened, that something had changed between them, was when the three split up inside the building and Osamu and Suna left Atsumu to walk over to their class. Atsumu, who had a hard time keeping his eyes off of Suna today, had stared at him and the middle blocker had showed a short amused smirk. _But Atsumu could have imagined it. This whole soulmate discourse was clearly messing with his head._

“Be honest now. Did ya kid us, or were ya tellin’ the truth yesterday?”, Osamu asked Suna and slung an arm around his shoulders. _How slow could people be? These clowns._ “I am honest. I was honest yesterday and I was honest the whole time! Why? Are you not believing me?”, the middle blocker shot back and tried to get out of his friend’s grip. It was uncomfortable walking like that since Suna liked to take his time and drag his feet. The twins were nearly always in a hurry. “If ya say so I’ll believe ya! And! I’ll enjoy yer show”, the younger twin grinned and quickly made his way to the locker rooms, expecting his friend to lash out at him. _Was Atsumu still unsure? Maybe he should recite the inscription of his shampoo bottle to him, so that he could listen and understand!_ With a hint of a smile Suna entered the room behind his friend.

The training went by relatively fast, which Suna was thankful for. He liked volleyball, but he also liked resting and being comfortable. He took his time in the showers. When his eyes fell onto his shampoo bottle a smile found its way on his lips, but he could suppress the urge to look over at Atsumu. _He wasn’t a creep! Even though he had to admit that sometimes it was difficult not to stare. Especially if the twins tried to pull a prank on their team butt naked._

After his long and refreshing shower Suna strolled back into the locker room. Most of his teammates were already gone, but the twins seemed to have dawdled, too. “See ya tomorrow”, Ginjima took his leave and left the three friends to themselves. Suna ignored Osamu’s constant snickering and Atsumu’s stares. _If he wanted to say something he could just should do that. What else did he need to hear from Suna?_ Osamu stopped giggling for a moment and Suna thought he’d finally have some quiet, but his friend started speaking before he could saviour the moment. “So- I guess- I’ll be leaving first”, the grey haired twin announced and quickly fled the scene. Suna heard the door close and then it was finally silent. _But it wasn’t relaxing. It was kind of awkward, now, that he and Atsumu were alone. Maybe he should take the next step -again!- since Atsumu didn’t seem to get his head out of his ass._ “Did you want to talk about something?”, Suna asked and turned around to face his soulmate. He was a little taken aback when he saw Atsumu standing right behind him. They exchanged a serious look, before the setter finally opened his mouth. “So- Why are ya avoidin’ me?”, he wanted to know accusatory. Suna let out a soft snort. “I never avoided you. I treated you like I always did”, he answered and leaned back against his locker. With a look of grim determination Atsumu came even closer and put his hands next to Suna’s shoulders. _Kabedon? Really?_ Suna tried hard to keep up his casual façade, but he felt his face slowly heating up. _How embarrassing._ “And what’s up with that? Why didn’t ya- I don’t know- Shouldn’t somethin’ have been different, after ya confessed to me?”, Atsumu asked and sounded more desperate than his friend had ever heard him. “I wouldn’t say I confessed-” “Ya said ya’d wait until I’d figured it out and then ya admitted it was time!”, the setter interrupted and Suna held his hands up in defence. At least he tried to without having to push Atsumu away or touch him. _He was so close._ Suna could smell his shampoo. _Shit. He was going to short circuit sooner or later. Probably sooner._ “Okay. I’ll give you that. Let’s say I confessed and what’s with you? Are you disappointed I’m not Kita?”, Suna said in a low voice and saw something like guilt and hurt flicker over Atsumu’s face. “I’m not! And what about ya? Weren’t ya crushin’ on Samu?”, he sounded accusatory again and Suna rolled his eyes. “I was never crushing on Samu. I realized we were soulmate’s rather quickly and even before I always seemed to be more into dumb, reckless, hardworking and fearless blonds”, the middle blocker appeased his soulmate and took a deep breath before he locked eyes with him again. His lips curled up into a lazy smile. “Are you jealous?”, Suna whispered and moved Atsumu to the side, when he did nothing but gasp for air, “Let’s hurry up and leave soon, as well.”

“So, how was it? Could ya two finally sort everythin’ out? I wish I could’ve heard ya. Should’ve eavesdropped at the keyhole”, Osamu declared and smirked at his brother when he saw the scowl on his face. “Everythin’ is fine and it’s none of yer business anyway”, Atsumu grumbled, making his brother laugh. “It kinda is my business to make sure ya two have a fulfillin’ love life, because I’ll be the one hearin’ the complainin’ from both of ya! What happened? Did ya make out in the locker room today?”, the younger brother peppered his brother with more questions. Atsumu halted in his move and knew immediately that there was no use in lying. _His twin knew him to well. He would make fun of him, but maybe he’d have something helpful to say, too._ “We didn’t- I mean we talked and he confessed that he confessed, so”, the older twin started, but got interrupted soon. “And then? What else?” Osamu’s curiosity was as flattering as it was annoying. “And then… We kinda just left and locked up”, Atsumu mumbled and avoided his brother disbelieving eyes. “That was all? Ya didn’t kiss?”, the grey haired twin asked and kept asking as soon as his brother shook his head. “Did ya at least hug?” Another shaking of the blond’s head. “But ya held hands on the way home!” Atsumu didn’t dare to keep looking at his brother who made a noise between disbelief, pity and mockery. “What are ya? A nun?”, Osamu suddenly burst out, successfully making his brother angry. “I didn’t wanna pressure him, okay? Not everyone is as horny as ya and tryin’ to get into their soulmate’s pants on the very first night!”, Atsumu shouted and the expression on his brother’s face actually scared him for a moment. “I didn’t try to get into Tadashi’s pants the first night, okay? I didn’t pressure him to anythin’! We held hands and kissed and cuddled, but it was all consented!”, Osamu yelled back getting into his brother’s face. They stared at each other angrily, before Atsumu took a step back. “I didn’t mean it that way, sorry”, he mumbled and climbed onto the top bunk of their bed. _He didn’t want to see his brother’s face right now. This was already humiliating even without seeing the mockery in Osamu’s face._ Atsumu laid down and stared at the ceiling. After a moment of silence Osamu started to talk again. He seemed to have calmed down and his voice sounded teasing again. “Don’t ya think it’s Suna who’s holdin’ back to not pressure ya, instead of the other way around?”, the bottom bunk twin asked and Atsumu gritted his teeth. _He didn’t know what to answer. Was his brother right? Was this another thing Atsumu was too dumb to realize himself? Did Suna really want-_ “I mean- Suna’s known yer his soulmate for years and has seen you naked lots for the same amount time. He’s a healthy young man, ya know. Just like me. And Yer the problem. The only balls ya think about are volleyballs”, Osamu continued his lecture and burst out laughing again when his brother threw a pillow down at him. “That’s not true! What are ya talking about?!”, the blond twin roared and glared down at his brother, who was grinning from ear to ear. “It is. And ya know it! At least it was. I know what I’d do if I could meet Tadashi every day and could have some private time with him. And this time I really don’t mean just kissin’, ya know? I-”, but this time Atsumu interrupted his brother by throwing another pillow. _He really didn’t want to know the details of his brother’s fantasies about his boyfriend. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but think about his brother’s words._

After training the next evening Atsumu was acting weirdly again and Suna wondered what his problem was this time. “Hey, Suna, will ya take yer- I nearly said lover- will ya take yer soulmate home today? I’m havin’ a date later”, Osamu said loudly, earning a punch in the shoulder from his brother and a raised eyebrow from his friend. “Is Tadashi here?”, Suna shot back confused and Osamu quickly shook his head. “No! He’ll call me, but that’s why I can’t have Tsumu in the house, ya know?”, he explained with a playful and slightly inappropriate glimmer in his eyes _. Was he implying dirty talk over the phone or was he trying to hint at something that Suna and Atsumu would be doing when they were alone? Probably both. Which would suggest at some sort of conversation between him and his brother about either Atsumu’s or Suna’s possible sexual needs and desires. How embarrassing! He shouldn’t think about that too much!_ “Will ya take him home or not?”, Osamu urged him for an answer, while Suna put on his pants. After a quick glance over at his soulmate he pulled his shirt over his head and nodded. “If he wants to”, Suna muttered and the younger twin loudly clapped his hands. “Thanks! And ya won’t regret it ya two”, he grinned before storming out of the room. Atsumu made a face between anger and embarrassment, but he silently waited for his soulmate to finish getting dressed and packing his stuff.

The way home was quiet, but Suna didn’t mind. _He was actually enjoying spending some peaceful time with Atsumu instead of his usual antics or Suna having to suppress his thoughts and feelings. Although it seemed like Atsumu was stressing out about something._

“Here we are”, Suna mumbled as he unlocked the door and dragged Atsumu inside. The setter quietly followed him to his room and hesitantly sat down on the bed, after Suna had patted the spot next to him. “Aren’t yer parents home?”, Atsumu suddenly wanted to know and blushed slightly when Suna let out a small laugh. “Is it making you uncomfortable?”, he countered and was about to budge from his soulmate a little. Atsumu quickly grabbed his arm and stopped him. “I didn’t mean it that way”, he sulked and quickly let go of Suna’s arm. The setter let his gaze wander over the room he actually knew quite well. The twins had been over at Suna’s place a lot. Nearly as much as he had visited them. Suna’s attention was on the boy next to him. _He saw Atsumu nearly every day and he had looked at him a lot, but this felt like the first time he was able to openly examine his features. He didn’t have to be low-key about it or forcefully stop himself from indulging too much into the fantasies about his soulmate he couldn’t fully suppress._ Atsumu shuffled nervously on his place before turning to face Suna. He looked a little annoyed when he asked: “Why are ya so relaxed?” “Should I be stressed?”, Suna replied a little taken aback, but his eyes never left Atsumu’s face. He noticed his ears turning red. “No! I mean- Maybe- Not that I- but ya confessed to me! I didn’t really answer yet, right?”, he stammered, but Suna’s smile silenced him. “I thought that seeing you jealous and not awkwardly baking away, was enough confirmation I needed, or are you trying to tell me right now that you want to reject me?”, the middle blocker said in a low voice, trying not to show his sudden fear crawling up his throat. _Had he completely misinterpreted the past days? Had he completely fucked this up?_ “No! I’m not gonna reject ya- I was just curious”, Atsumu’s voice got quieter with each word and Suna calmed down with it. _So that wasn’t his problem. Anything else couldn’t be too bad, right?_ They looked at each other in silence, until Atsumu began to whisper again. “Suna? Are ya- Should I- Do ya- Samu said that-”, Atsumu didn’t finish his question and he didn’t have to. Suna’s relieved laugh interrupted him. “Is it because Samu said that I was pining for you for years and probably couldn’t wait any day longer until you take your pants off for me?”, he roared and Atsumu’s cheeks were as bright red as his ears now. He gritted his teeth until Suna stopped laughing and looked at him deeply. His eyes twinkled with mischief. “You can start with your shirt if you want”, he breathed into his soulmate’s ear and started laughing again when he froze in shock. _Who knew he could be that cute. It was fun to be the teasing one from time to time._ “I’m just joking. I can wait until you’re ready, no pressure”, Suna reassured Atsumu and took his pouting face into his hands. “I mean it. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want”, he added urgently. Atsumu slightly nodded and took his hands off his face. He kept them in his, though. He lowered his gaze and their hands and fiddled with Suna’s fingers. “It’s not like that”, he whispered, not noticing Suna’s warm smile. “So did you have dreams and fantasies about me?”, he questioned the setter, who shyly shook his head. “No. What about ya?”, Atsumu asked him back and now it was Suna’s turn to get slightly embarrassed. “I have”, he quietly admitted, scared of his soulmate’s reaction. _Would he be creeped out? Would he be uncomfortable?_ “So you have”, Atsumu mumbled and slowly lifted his gaze from their intertwined hands to Suna’s eyes. Suna was a little shocked at the shift in emotion on his face. He softly tucked at Suna’s hands and he slowly leaned forward. “I’ve to admit I’ve never really thought about that much, but now I’m kinda curious”, he said, their noses nearly touching. Suna felt his brain slowly shutting down. He could smell Atsumu’s shampoo. He could feel his breath on his lips and his hands that were now slowly sliding up his arms were leaving traces of a warm, tingly feeling. _What should he do? Was this a dream? Where did his own confidence go?_ “Are ya getting shy now, Rintarou?”, Atsumu teased. _Oh now he was back at being a smug shithead!_ Suna let out an irritated breath, before crashing their lips together and a little aggressively wrapping his arms around his soulmate’s neck. He could feel Atsumu smiling and tried hard to not let out any weird noises, when the setter’s hands settled on his hips and pulled him closer onto his lap.

When they had to separate to breath, Suna had his limbs still slung around Atsumu’s body. The setter was rubbing his hands warmly over Suna’s back. _Maybe he should have said something sooner. This would be worth all the chaos Atsumu would inflict on his life. But he wouldn’t let him have the triumph of knowing that._ “I hate you”, Suna hissed, still panting. Atsumu smirked and Suna felt heat running through his whole body. “I don’t believe ya”, the blond twin snickered, pulling him even closer, nearly making their lips meet again. “Suna Rintarou?”, Atsumu asked softly and Suna couldn’t hide his anticipation. _Was he ready now? Would he finally be clear? Was he finally feeling the same?_ “You love me”, he stated and Suna rolled his eyes. “I know.” Atsumu softly kissed him again and this time Suna couldn’t fight the satisfied sigh that escaped him. A little embarrassed of the slightly sexual noise, he averted his face from Atsumu, but kept his arms and legs firmly around him. “I love ya, too”, he heard his soulmate’s voice near his ear. He turned to him again and the look on Atsumu’s face, calmed him greatly. “I believe you”, he quietly replied and kissed him again. _He really should have said something sooner. He wouldn’t want to go on without this, anymore._

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, so I hope I didn't make too many mistakes or wrote scenes that don't make any sense! Thank you for reading!^^


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